The Dragon and the Titans
by Splinter1
Summary: Edward Barnes, an immortal dragon, joins forces with the Titans and in the process, rescues Terra from her stone prison. Romances take off as well during the process. Robin and Starfire, then, BB and Terra, finally Edward and Raven get hooked up. NOTE: I will be condensing some of the smaller chapters in the near future.
1. Prologue

Terra Returns

By: Dan Trigona

September, 2011

Author's Note: Well, this certainly took on a life of its own…*chuckle*. Originally, this was going to focus on my Dragon joining the Titans, then, the idea of rescuing Terra came into play, which lead to Edward and Raven getting together. I know, that's a whirlwind romance if there ever was one. I did try to throw in some battle scenes and yeah, they are kind of "Mary Sue" in nature. Next installment might be more intense and not such a cakewalk.

Credits: The Teen Titans (Cartoon Network version) and other characters are owned by DC Comics/Warner Brothers.

Prologue

Edward Barnes writes…

After moving to Jump City recently, I've discovered a unique team of teenagers who call themselves the Teen Titans.

They are an interesting bunch of kids. Robin used to be Batman's sidekick, but, for some reason, has left Gotham City and his mentor behind for the most part. But, I suspect that they are still friends. Someone had to pay for the Titan Tower. But, there's more pressing things to work on.

Cyborg is just that…a real cyborg. He was injured in some sort of accident and about 50% of his body was replaced with robotic parts. He's highly intelligent, but, enjoys playing various video games to relax.

Starfire is a very pretty visitor from another planet who has adopted Earth as her home. There seems to be a mutual attraction between her and Robin, though. But, they are dancing around their emotions and I fear it will be a distraction.

Beast Boy…An interesting fellow. He's, for one, lime green and he and I share one thing in common: He's a shapeshifter as well. I've noticed, though, that he can't hold the form very long. He's got a weird sense of humor, but, is Cyborg's best friend on the team.

Raven. What can I say about her? She's a very private person most of the time, and while some folks would call her frigid, it's something forced on her due to her powers. When she gets truly angry, she loses control of them. Typically, though, she's controlled. She's not really fond of Beast Boy's jokes, though. Then again, with her so called father out of the way, she's able to open up more. She even opens up to me in a good way as you'll see later on.

But, while I get a chance to become part of this team, they've had a tragedy that they wish to undo. For a while, they had a girl on the team named Terra who willingly betrayed the team to a guy named Slade, but, redeemed herself when the sacrificed everything, possibly including her own life, to save the city she tried to destroy from a volcano. That earned the team's forgiveness. She's turned to stone or maybe is still barely alive somehow. From what I heard…Beast Boy and Terra had deep feelings for each other as well. That enabled Terra to escape Slade's control. I've heard that love can conquer all in my long life, but, will it conquer petrification?


	2. Meeting the Titans!

Chapter 1

[Jump City—July 20, 2010]

Edward had been walking to the local bank when there was gunfire from the building in question.

DAMN! Edward thought as he broke into a run and headed for the bank. As he looked in, he could see the vault opened and the customers on the floor.

There was a group of people holding weapons on the customers. Edward was taken aback for a moment and realized this was a hostage situation.

He could go in there, breath weapons charged and try to rescue the folks, but, that ran the risk of people getting badly hurt or killed. That wouldn't work for him.

The robbers, though, had their hands full of money and Edward realized that a disguise was in order, so, he shapeshifted to a bird and flew up to the top of the doorway.

As he watched, the band of thieves ran out the door and headed for a vehicle that was obviously intended to be their getaway car.

As Edward watched, though, the car suddenly became enveloped in dark energy and lifted away.

"We're only going to say this once," a masked teenager said. He had an "R" on his uniform.

"Put your hands in the air," a woman with glowing green eyes said.

The crooks decided to try to fight it out. Edward opted to cut off the rear and flew down.

A shapeshift to Dragon allowed him to speak, "Do as they say, and no one gets hurt."

Edward's spinal ridges glowed softly white, indicating that he was charging his ice breath.

The crooks turned and fired on Edward first. The bullets flattened against his scales.

"Titans, GO!" Robin yelled.

The crooks were then belted by green energy from the woman, who was now in the air.

Cyborg fired his cannon as Starfire continued to use her starbolts. As the robbers turned to fire, they found themselves slipping on a sheet of ice and flat on their backs.

They tried to get up, only to be facing a green T-Rex. Edward looked at Beast Boy as the crooks were trying to get out of the guy's way.

"Drop your weapons," Robin ordered the crooks. They slowly complied with the order. Edward snarled as did Beast Boy. The crooks put their hands into the air as the Jump City Police arrived.

As the crooks were arrested, Edward reformed his human form as did Beast Boy.

"Glad that's over," Edward said.

"Who are you?" Beast Boy asked.

"I'm Edward Barnes," he said.

"Thanks for the help," Robin said, "I'm Robin. This is Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven." He pointed to the other members of the team in turn.

Edward shook Robin's hand as well as everyone else's. When he got to Starfire though, she insisted on a hug, which Edward returned as a matter of courtesy. Edward didn't say anything, but, that was one of the hardest hugs he'd ever received.

"Dude!" Beast Boy said, "You're a shapeshifter also?"

"Actually, I'm a Dragon. But, yes, I'm a shapeshifting dragon," Edward replied.

"Great," Raven deadpanned, "Another dragon."

Edward looked at Raven strangely and said, "Another Dragon? I thought I was the only one."

"Don't ask," Robin said, "We had a nasty run in with a dragon. He's gone now, though."

Edward sensed that this was deeply personal for Raven, but, as he reached out a mental thread, he recoiled.

"Stop that!" Raven said.

"My apologies," Edward said and did as she asked.

"Don't ever enter my mind without an invite…It's not a place you want to visit," Raven said. She wasn't overly angry, Edward judged.

"Again, Raven, my apologies, I meant no harm," Edward expressed.

"It's all right, I sensed you were curious," Raven said, defusing the situation.

"You have the breath of ice, friend Edward?" Starfire asked. Edward was taken by her beauty, but, didn't want to let that show.

"Actually, folks, I have three breath weapons. You saw one application of the ice breath, but, I also have lightning and fire available," he said.

"Awesome!" Beast Boy said, "Robin, mind if Edward visits the tower?"

"Not at all, Beast Boy, I've seen enough to invite our new friend over," Robin said.

"You're the guys in that T shaped building?" Edward asked.

"Yep," Cyborg said, "Built it myself."

"Interesting," Edward said with a smile, "After you, Robin."

They headed for a car that looked a lot like Cyborg's external circuits with a blue pattern on them.

The Titans got in and Edward said, "Hmmm, not enough room for me in this form. I can fix that."

He shapeshifted to a small dragon and flew in, landing on Starfire's shoulder.

"That tickles, friend Edward!" she said with a giggle as Cyborg pulled into traffic.

Edward rolled his now small eyes and said, "Better to tickle than to grip harder. That would hurt!"

Everyone looked at Edward in shock and Raven said, "Am I hearing things? You heard that, right?"

"You did, Raven," Edward said, "In any of my dragon forms I am able to talk. It's any non-dragon form or non-human form when I can't talk."

"Bummer," Beast Boy said, "That's one on me."

"Yeah," Raven deadpanned, "He's a lot more bearable when he can't talk."

That earned Raven a glare from Beast Boy.

Edward said, "You are kidding, right?"

"Partially," Raven said, "He thinks his jokes are funny, when they really aren't."

"But, when Raven tells a joke, she's funny," Robin said, "Even though they are more accidental than on purpose."

As they drove on, the Titan Tower came into view and they drove into a tunnel that led to the underground garage.

Several minutes later, they emerged into the underground part of the Tower and got out.

Edward jumped off Starfire's shoulder and glided to a landing a few feet away before returning to human form.

Cyborg put his hand against a handplate and a voice said, "Recognize Cyborg, security mode to stand-by."

"Nice," Edward said, "A full AI?"

"Yes," Cyborg said proudly, "We'll have time to talk about that later on, I think. Time for the…"

"All you can eat breakfast explosion!" Beast Boy said and proceeded to grab Edward by one arm and Cyborg the other arm and dragged a stunned Edward towards the elevator.

"Better him than me," Raven quipped to Robin, remembering the last time they did that, she was the one who got grabbed up.

"He might be able to be the keeper of the peace?" Starfire asked.

Robin smiled, "Probably so, Star. At least, for once, we can actually trust a visitor to the Tower. Who knows, maybe he'll train with us for a while and if possible, he might make a good addition to the team."

"You know he's thousands of years old, right?" Raven asked. Robin's jaw dropped as did Starfire's.

"How did you know that?" Robin asked.

"I can sense it. Also, he brushed against my mind and that quick touch confirmed it," she explained, "He's also lonely. I can't determine why, though."

"That shouldn't be an issue, friends," Starfire said, "Right?"

"That depends," Robin said, "But, he doesn't look much older than Batman."

The rest of the team went upstairs where they found a bemused Edward keeping the peace between Cyborg and Beast Boy as Starfire predicted.

"Guys," he said, "No need to argue. While I understand that Beast Boy is a vegan, I've never had a problem eating meat. So, let Beast Boy have his chosen diet, the rest of the team can enjoy what they'd like. Besides, I can do both directions when it comes to food."

"So, you can eat venison, even though you can form a deer?" Beast Boy asked, shocked.

"When one has lived as long as I have, one learns to adapt," Edward said, "So, yes, I will eat venison, or buffalo or whatever. I don't see that as cannibalism since I'm a dragon."

"How old are you?" Cyborg asked.

"Close to 3,000," Edward confirmed. It was their turn to pick up their jaws.

"You're kidding!" Beast Boy said.

"No," Raven said, "He's not."

Edward turned towards Raven, "You knew, huh?"

She nodded, "Your little mind touch told me a lot about you. That's why I'm not mad. Had anyone else done that…"

She left the sentence hang while everyone else winced.

Edward blushed, though. He didn't even have time to really probe and, that wasn't his style anyway. If he sensed resistance, he backed away from probing too deeply.

Within an hour, the meal was ready, and, true to what they said, they had a lot of everything there to chow on.

As they ate, Edward noted that they needed some help with cooking skills, but, not much. He figured more like pointers, actually.

"So, Raven," Edward said, "You ever do any cooking for the team?"

She actually looked saddened, "I can't cook."

Robin said tactfully, "She can't. Only one here that likes it is Starfire."

Edward smiled, "I see. Maybe I can help you guys a bit, then. Raven, would you mind if I taught you how to cook?"

"Sure," she said, "If you want to kill the rest of the team."

Edward chuckled, "That's not going to happen. We'll start with the basics, then, over time, move on. I'll be there every step of the way. Within a year or two, you'll be as good as the others."

Raven thought about it and she said, "All right, if you think it's worth it."

The other Titans were all nodding their approval of the plan.

"Edward," Robin said, "How would you like to train with us tomorrow? You're welcome to spend the night if you'd like."

"Please do, friend Edward!" Starfire exclaimed. Edward smiled and said, "Why not? I could use the extra workout the training would provide."

That made everyone on the team happy.


	3. Welcome to the Team & Initial Training!

[Chapter 2]

[The next day – 8 AM]

After a good night's rest, Edward woke in the guest quarters in Titan Tower and stretched out. He had enjoyed his day with the Titans relaxing. The day had gone by uneventfully except for the usual gaming session between Cyborg and Beast Boy. Their WII and huge High-Def TV made the graphics really stand out.

Raven was trying to read as well, but, after the gaming got too loud, she floated away.

Starfire was trying to be nice, and actually overdoing it, but, Edward didn't mind. She seemed like the type that was very outgoing, the polar opposite of Raven, actually. Edward filed that away for future usage.

"Mind if I do the cooking?" he asked Robin out of courtesy.

"Not at all," he said, "Usually the team has their favorites, though. The safe bet is waffles or pancakes. Cyborg loves meat, so, fixing him a lot of bacon or sausage is up his alley. I'm a ham and eggs guy most of the time. Beast Boy prefers tofu based stuff. Starfire and Raven love waffles."

Edward nodded and after finding the equipment, started mixing together the batter for waffles as well as getting the other items.

"Hey, dude!" Beast Boy called.

"Morning Beast Boy!" Edward said, "What would you like for breakfast?"

"The tofu eggs, bacon and soymilk, please," he replied, "Unless you're cooking non-dairy waffles, that is."

Edward looked at the batter box and saw it didn't require any eggs or milk, He replied, "I have waffles planned, actually. I found your tofu bacon so, I'll do that first before cooking the other Titans their bacon."

"All right!" Beast Boy replied, "I always have trouble with Cyborg wanting to cook meat products."

Edward raised an eyebrow and pointed.

Beast Boy turned and let out a scream. Edward broke out laughing at the look on his face as he realized that the object of his comment was standing there.

"No need to argue, guys," Edward said gently, "Plenty left for everyone!"

Within 30 minutes, everyone was seated and digging into their blueberry waffles. Edward had added a few special touches that the Titans enjoyed as well.

[90 minutes later]

After the dishes were done and put away, Robin said, "Time to hit the training course, Titans. You coming, Edward?"

Edward nodded, "Sure. Like I said yesterday, I need a good workout."

"This will give you what you wish for, then," Cyborg said.

"It's a glorious day for the training," Starfire said with a grin and flying around the room.

They left the Tower shortly afterwards and headed for their training grounds.

Edward was impressed with the overall layout as Cyborg programmed in a sequence to start the course.

Cyborg said, "I'll run through it first, then, we'll figure out who goes next."

Robin replied, "Sounds good." He moved to the controls and after Cyborg got to the start/finish line Robin started a 15 second timer.

When the timer hit 0, Cyborg took off at a dead run as a battery of lasers came out of their areas and started firing. Cyborg easily managed to evade all of those lasers.

As he moved past them, Edward was surprised to see giant metal fists emerging from the ground. Again, Cyborg evaded those and moved on to the next area of the course.

Those looked like giant sliding doors, designed to flatten anyone underneath them. One almost caught Cyborg, who lost precious seconds forcing it up long enough to get out of its way.

Finally, more weapons, explosive discs were fired at Cyborg, who responded by using his cannon to intercept the discs before crossing the finish line.

"Boo Yeah!" he shouted, looking at his arm, "2:05! A personal best!"

"Nice work, Cyborg!" Robin said, "Edward, want to give it a shot?"

"Why not?" Edward said with a smile and moved to the starting line. He had a plan to get through the course already.

Robin reset the course timer and it started counting down. When it reached 0, Edward took off, shapeshifting to mini dragon form in the process.

This time, his scales were polished silver in color as the lasers flashed around him. He flew an evasive pattern to avoid getting hit and even though he was tagged at least once, the beam reflected into the air or into the ground.

He then shapeshifted back to human form for the fists he knew were coming. Sure enough, they came from the ground again, but, from different angles. Edward dodged those easily enough and headed for the sliding doors and raced underneath those. The final one caught Edward off guard for a second, but he caught the door and pushed upwards, allowing himself to escape.

For the exploding disks, he shapeshifted back to dragon and took to the air. As the disks started to be fired, he responded with his lightning breath. The initial round of projectiles exploded as Edward switched to his flame breath. Several flame blasts later and the second round of disks were smoking debris.

For the final volley, Edward used the ice breath. The discs hit the ice breath and fell to the ground harmlessly, covered in thick ice.

He landed at the finish line and was mobbed when he returned to human form.

From the podium, Raven said, "1:55. A new course record, by one second."

Edward nodded, "Not bad, then."

"Glorious way to start the day, friend Edward!" Starfire said happily, giving Edward another bone crushing hug.

"Nice to see you didn't destroy the turrets," Cyborg said, "Some of the discs can be reused as well."

"There wasn't a need to disable the course," Edward said, "And, I needed to give my breath weapons a workout as well. Everyone wins."

Edward sat back and watched as the other Titans went through the course. He was impressed with how the other members of the team got through the course.

Starfire basically flew through the course and only got hit once, but, she shook it off. Beast Boy did the same basic thing Edward did with the shapeshifting. Raven levitated through the course, using her abilities to dodge that tricky door.

Robin had Edward concerned. He was the only member of the team without any special abilities, yet, he breezed through the course as well.

After they finished, Robin said, "We basically spar against one another during training days. How would you like a chance to spar against us?"

"I'd like that," Edward said, "I'll keep the breath weapons powered low enough to not hurt, but, enough to get your attention."

Edward looked at Cyborg and said, "Mind a personal question?"

"Not at all," he said.

"Are you hardened against high voltage. I would not want to damage your circuits."

"Don't worry, I've got built in protection against high voltage," he said. Edward smiled at that.

"What about you, Raven?" Edward said, "Can your abilities block my weapons?"

"Of course," she said. Edward nodded at that one.

Starfire had already proven she was very capable in flight, so, she could dodge the breath weapons.

Edward knew that the others would happily dodge the weapons as well.

"Let's begin," Robin said, pulling his collapsible staff out.

Edward nodded and said, "As you wish."

He shapeshifted to his mini-dragon form and fired off a short flame burst, forcing Robin to dodge out of the way. He turned on Starfire and let off a lightning bolt. She squealed as she ducked under the bolt and let loose her eyebeams. Edward was forced into the air to avoid getting hit.

Next thing he knew a green pterodactyl was slamming into him.

"Good one!" Edward exclaimed as he righted himself. He fired off an icy burst at Beast Boy and he wasn't quite fast enough to get out of the way and his wing got coated with a thin layer.

"Azarath metrion zinthos!" Raven said, using her abilities to lift some large boulders to try to hit Edward.

Edward waited until the boulders were speeding towards him and teleported to behind Raven. He tapped her on the shoulder and as she spun around, he gently decked her. He didn't dare use his full strength.

Edward was then clobbered by Cyborg's arm weapon and sent flying right into Robin who hit with the staff.

Edward shook his head to clear it somewhat.

"You all right?" Robin asked.

Edward chuckled deep and knocked Robin over with his tail and fired his lightning at Cyborg, who ducked out of the way in time.

The mock battle continued for a while longer before Robin called for a halt.

"Everyone did a good job. Edward, thanks for holding back," he said.

Raven replied, "I know you pack a good punch."

"That was a fraction of my strength, Raven," Edward said, "Had I hit you at full strength you'd still be out cold at best."

"How strong are you?" Beast Boy asked.

Edward picked up a rock and said, "Cyborg, can you track this rock?"

"Sure!" he replied hitting a few buttons on his arm.

Edward gave the rock a throw with all his strength and Cyborg's jaw dropped a few seconds later.

"It's still going," he said, "3000 yards…3200…3400…3600…3758.4 yards!"

"Not bad," Robin said.

"Not at all," Edward said.

They headed back to the Tower to do some relaxing after the training session was over.

After they got back to the Tower, Edward noticed a door with the word "Terra" on it.

"Another room?" Edward asked Robin. Robin replied, "Yeah, this used to be Terra's room." Edward noticed that the young man's voice was deeply troubled.

"May I ask what happened?" Edward asked.

"Terra betrayed us," Robin said sadly, "She was a tragic character. She had the ability to move the ground at will with her mind. When we found her, she had a hard time controlling her powers and after we offered her a spot on the team, I made a huge mistake. I mentioned that she didn't have that control and she left.

"Six months later, she came back and her control had been achieved. Raven sensed something was amiss, but, everything seemed to be OK. Slade, one of our arch-enemies, almost destroyed the building by undermining it. Terra and Raven, set aside their differences and raised the Tower back where it needed to be.

"We gave her this room and a spot on the Titans. She really had earned it. But, she was an inside spy for Slade. She gave him everything about us including our weaknesses. She revealed herself to be a traitor and switched sides. We found out that she became his apprentice."

"She almost killed the entire team," Raven said, "But, later in the fight, we discovered that Slade had taken control of her body and abilities. She fought against the control and killed Slade in a volcanic eruption. She sacrificed herself for the city and for her friends."

"How did she do that?" Edward asked.

"She shut down the volcano," Beast Boy said, "She redeemed herself. We put a marker where she still stands, turned to stone."

"And, you kept her room as a memorial. After everything she tried to do…you forgave her," Edward stated. He was in awe of the amount of friendship and forgiveness.

Edward reached out to the younger shapeshifter, who was trying to fight back the tears.

"You loved her, I can tell, Beast Boy," Edward said gently, "It's OK. Let it out if you need to."

Beast Boy's guard collapsed and as the team gathered around him…including Raven, he wept bitter tears into Edward's shoulder.

Starfire was also crying, but, she turned to Robin for comfort. He didn't look very happy either, for old wounds were finally being dealt with.

"Would it be all right for me to visit her statue and pay my respects?" Edward asked as Beast Boy started to calm down.

"We can go later today, if you'd like," Robin replied. Edward nodded his appreciation towards the Boy Wonder and finally, Beast Boy had cried himself out.

"Thanks," he said, "I needed that."

"Pretty close, huh?" Edward supposed.

"She was the greatest, present company excluded," he replied, looking not at Edward but at Raven.

He's also interested in Raven. That's good to know! Edward thought.

Edward smiled for Raven's benefit as they headed on towards a different room. Robin opened the door and turned on the lights.

"Here's your room, Edward," Robin said and held out a communicator, "As is this. You're a Teen Titan, if you want. We know that you're quite old, but, eventually, we'll get out of our teen years and have to drop the 'Teen' from the name anyway."

Edward reached out and took the device and said, "I'm honored by this. I accept the invite."

With that the other Titans had a reason to celebrate.


	4. An important rescue!

Chapter 3

[That evening – After dinner]

As promised, the team went to visit Terra's statue and as Edward laid some flowers there, he noticed the plague:

"Terra.

A Teen Titan.

A true friend."

Edward then knew in his heart that the Titans truly forgave her, and that knowledge warmed his heart as well. He reached up to touch Terra's stony cheek and was stunned for he felt the slightest psychic vibration from inside the statue!

"Raven," Edward said, "How honed are your abilities? You're not going to believe this: I'm feeling a very faint presence within the statue!"

"I've tried to find any trace of life, Edward," Raven said, "There wasn't one."

"Take my other hand, then, Raven," Edward instructed gently, "Try to tune out my vibrations and those of the others and focus your telepathy through me."

He held out his other hand and felt Raven's gentle touch. He squeezed back and reaching deep within himself, opened a link between the three. He focused on making the vibration stronger, but, there was no need. Raven pulled away quickly.

"If I hadn't felt that, I wouldn't have believed it," she said, "He's right. There's something there."

"Gather round, everyone," Edward requested, "There's a very slim chance that Terra's essence is still locked in there. It's going to take all of us to coax that dying ember into a spark of life. She knows how you treated her before everything went down the tubes. She needs to know that despite everything…you all love her and care for her, especially Beast Boy."

"What do we have to do?" Beast Boy said hopefully.

"We hold each other's hands," Raven said. Edward nodded and said, "Exactly. Beast Boy, I need you to hold Terra's right hand. Raven, I need you on her left hand. I'll be on your other hand, Raven. Cy, Star and Robin complete the circle, please."

They complied.

"Raven will be able to, I hope, channel our life forces into Terra," Edward said, "Each of us will give Terra a fraction of our life force. I can afford more, Raven, so, if you sense the others, including yourself getting drained, use mine.

"The reason is that she might have drained her powers stopping the volcano. If we can kick-start her powers, she might break loose."

She nodded, "It's worth a shot."

She chanted her mantra and her power flowed forth, covering the group in black energy.

At first, nothing happened, then, the stone that was Terra started to crack and pieces fell off, leaving pale human skin behind.

It took several minutes, but the stone finally shattered and a naked Terra fell. As the black energy collapsed, Beast Boy caught her. Robin took off his cape and covered Terra for modesty.

Edward felt for a pulse and said, "She's got a pulse. It's weak, but, there. We have to get her to a hospital."

"No need," Cyborg said, "The Tower has a state of the art medical bay."

"That's fine," Edward said, "Let me change to my mini-dragon form and we can teleport back to the Tower."

"What about the T-Car?" Cyborg asked, "We can't leave it here!"

"I'll come back for it," Edward said then shapeshifted.

"Everyone aboard," Edward said, lowering himself to the ground. Beast Boy handed Terra to Starfire, who gently flew onto Edward's back. The others got on as well.

Edward couldn't take to the air safely, but, knew he could teleport without being in flight, so, he focused on the Titan Tower and teleported.

A few moments later, they were racing into the Tower and up to the medical bay. Terra was gently placed on the bed and covered up, allowing Robin to get his cape back.

Cyborg started running the medical scanners and they showed that there was no physical injuries, but, that Terra was in a coma regardless.

"Let's give her some additional oxygen, Cyborg," Edward said, "10 liters/minute."

"I'm on it," he said, retrieving a mask and gently placing it on her head.

After a minute, her blood oxygen levels came up nicely as her heart rate got stronger in response to the higher oxygen, but, outside of that, there was no sign of her wanting to wake up.

Edward sighed, "I'm going to have to start a gentle mind touch to see where she's at. Problem is that she's never met me and her mind may retreat in further."

"I'll do it," Raven said dryly, "If she's still in there, I'll find her."

"Guys," Cyborg said, "We might have a problem here."

He punched a few buttons and it showed Terra's old DNA and her current DNA. It showed some damage.

"Her powers are gone," Cyborg said, "The damaged DNA strands were her terrakinetic abilities. Looks like she burned them out. It could be why she's still in a coma.

"There must have been a little stored up regardless and our life force was just enough, as Edward said, to bust her out, but, now, she depowered."

"Well, that raises a serious ethical problem, then," Edward sighed, "DNA is self-replicating and unless I'm wrong, we can restore her DNA. Problem is, do we have a right to restore this ability without hearing from the patient? Or should we leave the damaged strands replicate themselves."

Raven said, "If we can get her mind to cooperate at least, we can find out, correct?"

Robin nodded, "That would solve that problem. It was her powers that drove her to Slade. She couldn't control them all the time."

"All she wanted was acceptance," Beast Boy said, "Her last words to me were that I was the best friend she ever had. I'd like her back…powers or not."

"We do want friend Terra back," Starfire agreed.

"It would be a great day to see her awake, powers or not," Cyborg said, "Hopefully, her personality is still intact somehow."

Edward gently place his hands on both sides of Terra's face and leaned down.

"Terra," he said, "We've never met before now. But, I'm with your friends here at the Titan Tower. You're not stone anymore. You're with people who accepted you once before and despite everything you've done to them, they are wanting you back. You are forgiven, Terra. Beast Boy wants his best friend back. We all love you. Please, let Raven and me in to help you."

"Terra," Beast Boy said, "It's me. We want you back. I forgive you for everything. I know that on some level, you are still here. Please…come back to us."

There was a response from the monitoring equipment as Beast Boy spoke. Terra's heart rate and blood pressure spiked, her EKG showed that she was able to at least recognize voices.

Raven placed her hands on top of Edward's as Beast Boy stood with the other members of the team in silence.

Edward nodded, "Lead the way, Raven."

With that, Edward's world went white…


	5. Terra's Mindscape

[Terra's Mindscape]

Edward's vision cleared as he looked around. Raven was there, wearing a white robe, which puzzled him for a moment.

"We're in Terra's mind," Raven said, "This isn't going to be easy, though. She might not be aware of our presence. When she does realize the intrusion, expect resistance and possibly lots of it."

The landscape looked bleak, like a desert landscape. Edward and Raven starting walking toward what they thought was a flashing beacon.

"Would my shapeshifting powers work here?" Edward wondered.

"Well, the time Beast Boy and Cyborg were in my mind, they could use their powers," Raven said.

A voice said, "What's going on? Who are you?"

A young woman appeared, looking like Terra herself, but, not looking happy.

"I know Raven," she snarled, "You, I don't!"

"This is one of Terra's emotions, I think," Raven said.

"You think so, Raven?" the woman said, "How do you know that?"

"Terra," Edward said, "My name's Edward. I come in peace, to help you."

"What if I don't want your help?" she said, "No one helped me when I was younger. I had to do things myself! Slade claimed to help, and TURNED ON US ALL!"

"I'm sorry about that," Edward replied, "I can only ask that you don't consider me to be Slade. He hurt you badly, I know. You've got my word that I won't hurt you here or out there. I'd like you to trust me, just a little bit. It doesn't have to be total trust, I can understand that."

She looked at Raven, "You trust him?"

"With my life," Raven said, "He's part of the Titans now."

Terra's angry personality said, "Well, I won't give him full trust, but, if you seek to rescue Terra, she's over there, somewhere. We haven't been able to find her after that blinding light hit us!"

That must have been when Terra turned to stone.

Raven and Edward moved onwards when a huge wall of stone erupted, blocking their path. As they looked, more blocks emerged, one after the other.

"A maze?" Raven said, "Give me a break! That's what I used with the others. But, this means that Terra's aware that we're here now."

Edward formed a bird and tried to get over it, without success. He smacked his head on an invisible barrier and was forced to land.

"Ouch!" he said, "That was unexpected."

"You'll have to go through," another version of Terra said. This one was more timid for some reason.

She continued, "I can get you through, but, you must hurry. We can feel Terra dying. If she dies, we all die."

"Let's go, then," Edward said. He held out a hand to the timid one and said, "It's OK, we're friends."

She refused to take his hand, though. Edward slowly withdrew the hand and she started walking. Raven and Edward followed.

As they walked, the timid Terra started to apologize for things, mainly stuff she did to the Titans.

Edward gently placed a hand on the shoulder of the timid Terra and said, "It's OK, Terra, they forgave you already. Raven's even forgiven you, right?"

Raven smiled softly, "Right. We did forgive you. We couldn't hold a grudge against you."

It helped timid Terra a little bit as they finally exited the maze and looked at a huge void. There was a faint spark visible at the center of the blackness.

"There's Terra's essence," the timid one said, "We can't cross it."

"We'll try to bring her back," Raven said.

Edward formed his mini-dragon form and said to Raven, "Might as well get on, it might be easier for you."

Raven nodded, "All right."

She got on and Edward leapt into the inky blackness.

As they flew, Edward could feel that the blackness was getting thicker, and harder to fly through. He couldn't see anything, except that lone spark of light.

Eventually, it felt that he was flying through molasses and he adopted a swimming motion to plow through more of the stuff.

"You OK?" Edward asked Raven.

"Yeah," she replied, "What is this stuff?"

"You're guess is as good as mine. It's almost like thick mud. We're lucky we can breathe in here!" Edward said.

"Our bodies are still on the outside, that's why," Raven said, "We have to keep going. I can sense that Terra's near."

It took a while, but, Edward kept plowing through the stuff. After what seemed like hours, the pressure let up and they were surrounded by light.

In the center was Terra herself. She was covered by white linens and looked to be sleeping.

Raven reached over and touched Terra's shoulder. She woke with a start and said, "Raven?"

"Yeah, it's me," Raven said, "I've brought a friend with me."

"Beast Boy?" Terra said hopefully.

"No," Edward said, "My name's Edward Barnes, a Dragon. Beast Boy is waiting for you to wake up."

Terra wept, "I can't go back out there. Everyone hates me!"

"Not true," Raven said, "Beast Boy cares about you, the other Titans care about you as well. We never gave up hope. Edward discovered you were still here."

"I did horrible things!" she objected, the sobbing getting harder. Edward gently took the frightened soul into his arms. Terra resisted for a moment.

"Terra, it's OK," Edward said gently, "We know all that. And, you know what? It's all good. Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, Raven and especially Beast Boy all forgive you! Starfire wants her friend back, and, Beast Boy isn't the same without you."

Beast Boy's voice was heard then, "Terra, come back to us. We love you."

"Beast Boy?" Terra asked.

"Yeah, that's him," Raven said, "He's right. We all love you, Terra. We don't love the things you did, but, it doesn't mean that the Titans wouldn't take you back. Robin wants to honor his promise to Beast Boy."

"How can I face them? They rejected me!" Terra said.

"Terra," Raven said, "We rejected what you were doing. You earned our acceptance and our respect."

"She's right," Edward said, "From what little I know, when you realized your mistakes, you worked to fix them. That earned not just their friendship…You earned their love and forgiveness. You sacrificed everything for the Titans and the city."

"I tried to kill my friends!" Terra screamed.

Edward patted her on the back gently, rubbing small circles as well. He knew they were going to be there for a while, helping a tortured soul to begin to heal. He gently rocked Terra as well as she wailed bitter tears into his shoulder.

"Don't think about that anymore," Edward said gently, "That nightmare's over forever. Everyone's still alive and well. They really do want to see you awake."

"But, I'm stone! I can't escape this HELL!" Terra wailed.

Edward gently forced Terra's head up and said, "You're wrong, little lady. The Titans and I each gave up a piece of ourselves for you. You're flesh and blood again, Terra. You're resting in Titan Tower."

"For real?" Terra said.

"For real," Raven said, "That's the act of friends. The act of acceptance."

Despite the tears, Terra smiled and said, "Let's go home!"

"That's your cue, Raven," Edward said with a smile, "Get us out of here."

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" she chanted and Edward's world went white once more.


	6. Terra needs emotional support

Chapter 4

[Titan Tower Medical Bay]

Edward slowly woke up, feeling more drained than usual. He looked around and discovered that he, Terra and Raven were holding hands. Terra's hand was warm to the touch and a look at the monitor told the tale.

Terra was waking up from her coma.

Robin said, "Well, what's happening?"

"She's scared out of her mind, for one. She's going to be unsure what to make of everything, especially your forgiveness and your sacrifice," Edward said.

Beast Boy said, "We'll help her with that."

"No," Edward said, "You're going to, BB. You knew her best, I think. It's your love for her that will get her through this. She will need a lot of reassurance…from everyone."

Edward noticed a flicker on Terra's face along with Raven. It was apparent that Raven was guiding Terra back, but, it was the first true sign of life on Terra's part.

Edward noticed that Terra had on a uniform and asked, "How did she get dressed?"

"Starfire dressed her," Robin said, "Terra had some of her old uniforms here and Star realized that if the effort was successful, Terra would be humiliated to be covered in only a sheet."

"Friend Terra didn't deserve that," Starfire said, blushing heavily.

Edward sat up and smiled, "You did the right thing, Star."

"How's a girl supposed to sleep with all this racket?" a voice said.

"TERRA!" Beast Boy and Starfire said at the same time.

"Easy, folks," Edward said, "It's best we allow her to come to us first."

Terra opened her eyes for the first time since turning to stone and looked around.

"Titans Tower?" she asked.

"Yeah," Robin said, "You're home, Terra."

"Home?" she replied, "Why here?"

Robin replied, "When we realized that Slade was controlling you, we knew that even though you chose to betray the Titans to him we held out hope that you'd see the error of your ways. You broke his control over you, killing him in the process. Sacrificing yourself for the city was your redemption. Being a statue was worse than being in jail. As a team, we chose to forgive you and honor your memory."

The team could see the tears in her eyes as Beast Boy went to her and held her. The floodgates opened then and she wept heavily into his shoulder.

Edward motioned to the others as he got up, "Maybe it's best to give them some time, Robin?"

"Agreed," Robin said, also getting up. Cyborg and Star also got up and left the room. Raven was still in a trance, but, she'd be fine.

[In the living room]

The team sat down and while the mood was a joyful one, there was concern as well. Terra's return from wherever she was weighed heavily on the teenagers' minds. It weighed heavily on Edward as well. He had helped bring her back, but, the question of her powers was critical. She'd be useless to the team without them and time was of the essence. Unless her DNA was restored within a reasonable time, she'd be depowered forever.

Cyborg had figured that she had 24 hours from the time she was reborn to get her original DNA replicating and overwriting the damaged code or there's little hope to correct it. But, with Terra awake, it was her call to restore her ability or let it go forever.

"I'm glad to see Terra awake again," Robin said, "But, where will she stay if her powers aren't restored?"

"She can stay here?" Starfire asked, "Friend Terra can't go back on the streets!"

"She won't, Starfire," Edward said, "Even if she chooses to move on, I'll let her have my apartment here in the city. No sense in my staying there if I'm part of the team, right? You guys already have given me a room here, and, it'd be disrespectful if I didn't take you up on it."

Robin replied, "Sounds like a plan. I wouldn't mind having her here and, I know Beast Boy would love it as well. I doubt her lack of powers would bar her from staying here as long as she wants and BB doesn't care if she's got her powers or not."

Cyborg said, "How do we know she wouldn't betray us again?"

"Because she owes the team," Edward said wistfully, "Part of what she went through was a result of not being accepted in the past. Her lack of control before was a wedge between her and making friends.

"The team, especially BB, accepted her before. It was such a change that she couldn't adapt. Slade pretending to accept her didn't help matters at all. She was further unbalanced in several ways. But, Slade did help her accomplish the control over her abilities she longed for. She's going to need time to adapt anyway."

"She's going to need a lot of time," Raven said, floating into the room, "Terra's scared out of her mind and Beast Boy is doing his best to help reassure her. I feel bad for her, to be blunt. The emotional damage is very deep."

"What do you suggest, Raven?" Cyborg said.

"Just being her friend and showing her forgiveness will help a lot. Making sure that she has a home is the biggest deal," she said.

"We've already tackled that one," Robin said, "She can stay here as long as she wants, and, Edward will let her use his apartment."

The intercom went off as Beast Boy came on and said, "Uhh, can you guys come back? Terra's really needing you."

"We'll be right there," Robin said. The team raced to the medical bay and went in.

Terra looked like she had fought a major battle and was losing badly. Edward had worried about that as he sat down.

"You'll be OK, Terra," he said.

"How do you know that?" she asked quietly.

"You're among friends, for one," he replied, "The Titans are still your friends. I'd like to be your friend as well."

She looked up at Edward and said, "But, I don't even know you."

"In a way, you do," Edward said gently, "Raven and I had to delve into your mind to help convince you to come back. I'm Edward Barnes."

Terra looked at him and said, "I thought it was just a dream."

Raven said, "It was more of a nightmare, I'd think. It's over now. Let it go."

Terra shuddered, "I did horrible things. You sure that you want to be my friend?"

Edward gently put an arm around her shoulder, gently lifting her face and said, "No doubt in my mind…I'm sure that I want to be your friend. That means acceptance and trust, Terra."

"We're all sure," Robin said to her, gently turning her tearstained face and even planting a soft kiss on her forehead to reinforce the point.

"Yes, friend Terra!" Starfire said happily, giving Terra a hug…a gentle one this time, "Welcome home!"

"I don't have a home," Terra said sadly.

"That's not true," Robin said, "We discussed it already. Your old room is still here, just like you left it. Edward said that if you don't want to stay here, you can use his apartment. You've got a home, powers or not."

"What do you mean?" Terra said, "My powers are gone?"

Cyborg looked like he wanted to smack Robin upside the head, but, replied, "I'm afraid so. You burned them out saving the city. Your DNA is actually damaged and that's disabled your powers.

"We have a sample of your undamaged DNA and can restore your abilities. But, we want to let you decide as well. It can wait a little while."

"You brought me back from that hell to see if I wanted my powers back?" she snarled, totally misunderstanding.

"No, Terra," Edward said softly, "That's a side issue. When we went down to visit your statue, I sensed your life force still there, still locked away. We decided, as a team, that the world was better with you in it. We all gave you a piece of ourselves to break you out of there. You'd been punished enough. No way we're going to send you away. Not now, not ever, little lady.

"It's truly your choice to get your earth moving powers back or not. We care about you, as a person, more than your abilities. BB, do you think you'd love her less with or without her powers?"

Beast Boy looked into Terra's eyes and said, "Terra, I care a lot about you. I always have. It doesn't matter to me if you have your powers or not. My friendship with you isn't based on if you can move boulders or even a grain of sand."

"So, you're still the best friend I've ever had?" she asked, finally letting the truth sink in.

"Yeah," Beast Boy said. That sentiment was echoed with the rest of the team.

Terra said, "I have to think about getting my powers back. I really want to be part of the team again, that is…"

Robin reached over to her and in his hand was a new Titan communicator. Terra reached over and took it.

"It's honorary for now," he explained, "No strings attached, Terra. Even if you opt to lose your powers forever, there's still a place here for you. If you do get your powers back we'll drop the honorary part of the title."

She hugged Robin and said, "Thank you, for everything."

Edward knew that she still had a long road ahead of her, but, she had taken several major steps. For that matter, so did the rest of the team.

"You feel up for some solid food, Terra?" Edward asked.

"I'd advise against that," Cyborg said, "No one here knows how her body will react to solid food. We need to ease her into it. For all we know, everything inside her has been restored to a clean slate."

"Well, we'll figure something out, then," Terra replied softly, "But, you guys go get some food. I'm feeling tired."

The Titans left Terra to herself then. She was looking tired after her ordeal. She also needed time to come to terms with all that had happened to her. It wasn't every day that someone came back from being turned to stone.


	7. Beast Boy needs advice

Beast Boy walked alongside Edward and said, "I don't know how to thank you for bringing Terra back. I don't even know if I can repay you for your kindness."

Edward smiled, "Well, you just thanked me. It was a pleasure to help her and you. You don't owe me anything at all, but, keep helping her the best you can. She's a sweet girl who knows she messed up royally. But, she's got her friends to lean on, and, someone who I know loves her a lot."

Beast Boy sighed, "I know, but, I've also got a problem."

Edward was at his new room and said, "Come on in. I think my duty is not done for today."

Beast Boy took Edward up on his invite and walked into the room and sat down on one of the chairs.

He sighed deeply and said, "I do love Terra, Edward…but, after she turned to stone, I was heart-broken. It took a long time to recover and, well, the team gave me a lot of space and time to bounce back.

"Raven was the biggest help. She put things into perspective for me. But, my problem is that I've developed feelings for Raven as well! I think she knows it as well. I've figured out that she was jealous of Terra."

"Well," Edward replied, "I don't know that much about Raven or anyone else in this building, for that matter. I can tell you that you're going to have to decide which one to truly love and which one stays a friend. Raven seems to be more distant emotionally, though. Terra, I can see, cares a lot for you. Maybe that's the direction you should head towards. She needs a lot of reassurance that she's not hated anymore. She really needs her best friend first and foremost. Make her laugh at your jokes, for example."

"She did love my corny jokes," Beast Boy said, "No one else finds them funny."

"There's your starting point. You have to be yourself around her," Edward said, "Raven probably is at the point where she sees you as a younger sibling. That's a good thing, I believe. She'll be there for you as well, in her own way. But, you can't love both Terra and Raven in a romantic way. Raven would understand, I think, if you told her how you feel towards her and Terra. One needs to be loved as a family member, my new friend, the other you can love for romance's sake."

Beast Boy looked like he was trying to wrap his head around the whole idea and struggling to do so.

"There's time to decide, BB," Edward said, "Be Terra's friend first, as I can see that she needs acceptance first and foremost, especially now. Sure, hate her crimes, but, remember what Robin said…She was in a place far worse than jail. Try to imagine being trapped within yourself and unable to move, or shape-shift into anything at all. You're thinking that you're there for possibly hundreds of years with no hope, period.

"No hope of love, no hope of true acceptance, no friends. Unable to affect anything around you. It's true hell, son.

"Then, all of a sudden, that changes. You spend a few years as a statue and a complete stranger joins the Titans and is able to give you parole and accepts you right away, but, the acceptance that you want is from the green shapeshifter and his team mates."

Edward was curious about several things, but, he figured that the answers would come later.

Beast Boy sighed. It was obvious that he was having a hard time with his feelings towards both Raven and Terra.

"Can I accept Terra the way she is, though?" he asked, "She's already betrayed us once. Should I trust her?"

"I dare say that you already have," Edward said, "When Raven and I were in her mind, trying to coax her to come back, we all heard one voice pleading for her. It was your voice that we heard, no one else's."

"I didn't say anything, though," he protested.

"You didn't have to," Edward said with a smile, "Your heart was speaking for you."

"It was?" Beast Boy asked.

"Sure! Why wouldn't it?" Edward supposed, "Think about it. You care a lot about Raven as a friend…maybe as the sister you never had despite her being aloof towards you and the rest of the team. I have to assume that there's a reason for that, though. But, what was your reaction to Terra the first time you'd saw her?"

"I felt that I loved her," he replied. Edward smiled again, "Love at first sight, then. How supportive were you towards her?"

"As supportive as I could be." Beast Boy said, "She was really nervous doing the obstacle course and actually destroyed some of it, but, she got through it. She hugged me and said, 'You said I could do it and you were right.'"

"But, she was frightened as well. At the time, her abilities couldn't always be controlled. Robin figured it out and when we offered her a place on the team, Robin slipped and told her. She freaked and ran away. Months later, she came back, earned back her spot on the team and all seemed OK.

"Turned out that she was Slade's apprentice and she almost killed us…you know what happened after that."

Edward responded, "I think at the time, she might have felt the same, but, she was so insecure, it was hard for her to trust people.

"When Robin told her that he knew, she couldn't deal with it. I'd heard of unexplained quakes and mudslides where typically there wasn't any. Those were probably caused by Terra's runaway powers, so, she ran off every single time. When she got here, did she feel that she had a home?"

"We gave her a home!" Beast Boy replied, "She turned against us."

"Why is that?" Edward said, "Probably because Slade, whoever he is, gave her the means to control her powers. But, from what you've said, he ended up controlling her instead."

There was a knock at the door and Edward said, "Come in! Doors open."


	8. So does Raven

The door opened to reveal Raven there, "We need your help. Terra's awake and seems to be frightened."

Edward nodded and got up.

"Not you, Edward," Raven said, "Beast Boy is the one she's calling for."

"Remember what I said, Beast Boy. She needs your love, not your anger towards her. Anger is pointless here, it's true acceptance she needs, nothing else counts," Edward advised.

Beast Boy left and brushed past Raven, who traded spots with him.

"You OK, Raven?" Edward asked.

"Not really," she admitted, "I'm torn a bit. Why do I feel that I'm in the middle here?"

"BB and Terra?" Edward said.

"Yeah," she replied, "He's an annoying little guy at times, but, there are other times when he goes out of his way to be friendly towards me."

"Isn't that what friends do, though?" Edward asked, "More to the point, though: Isn't this what siblings do?"

"We're not related," she said.

"Does it matter?" Edward asked, "I can tell you're not related. You're gray, he's bright green. The point here is that he cares deeply for you as a friend. He's there when you need him and you've had to learn to not just live with him, but, to trust him with your life. That says a lot."

"And, when Terra came into the picture, you realized that you might have feelings for him that are beyond friendship, correct?"

"How did you know that?" she gasped.

"I'm close to 3,000 years old, I believe I've figured out a few things about being human," Edward said with a chuckle, "But, seriously, I have a feeling that underneath the odd sense of humor, there's someone who also needs acceptance and more importantly love. He needs you as a big sister more than a romantic interest, right?"

Raven thought about it for a moment, "Well, he was there after I…" She choked on the words and Edward asked, "I know you're not one for hugs, but, would it be all right this one time?"

Raven leaned towards Edward and he put an arm around her, very gently.

"BB was there when your heart was broken, I see," Edward said, finishing Raven's thought. She nodded, "I was tricked and lied to. But, I fell in love with what I thought was a lost soul trapped in a book. When I was able to release him, he turned on me, revealing he was an evil dragon."

"You don't ever have to worry about that with me, Raven," Edward said, "You may even examine my own mind if you doubt me."

"I know already," she said, "We were both in Terra's mindscape, but, I knew that you wouldn't hurt me or her. We've already developed a level of trust.

"But, yeah, Beast Boy was there that night when things were dark. The waves of despair were there, but, he came by and said that he was sorry that the other dragon broke my heart. He also admitted that I'm creepy, but, that while I thought I was alone, I really wasn't. I was so touched, I came out of my room and hugged him."

Edward mused for a second, "That obviously helped a bit, but, unless I'm wrong, there's still some hard feelings between you and Terra."

"Of course there's hard feelings," Raven snarled, "She tried to drown me. I was lucky that I was able to teleport out of there when she left."

"Let those go, Raven," Edward advised, "True forgiveness dictates so. We came together, as a team, to bring her back from the true hell she earned. I couldn't have done it alone, neither could you. It took an old Dragon and Terra's true friends to turn stone back to flesh. My telepathic or empathic abilities are merely defensive in nature. It's hard for me to use those as a weapon."

"What about Beast Boy?" she asked.

"He'll be fine," Edward replied, "He's found his soulmate. They will heal each other."

"I've known that he's got feelings for me now," Raven admitted, "But, he's also got feelings for Terra."

"I know," Edward revealed. Raven looked shocked, eyes widening before saying, "How did you know?"

"I've seen the way BB looks at you. He does love you and will have to decide, and soon, which one of you he devotes to a romantic relationship and who gets the sister role," Edward replied honestly.

Raven bowed her head and replied, "He's going to date Terra."

Edward said, "Raven. It's going to be OK. Beast Boy has more respect for you than you realize. Be his older sister, little lady. He fell for Terra right away."

"It did take almost a year to stop hating Beast Boy, but, now, how can I compete with her?" Raven asked.

"Easy. Don't compete with Terra," Edward said, "This team has to come first. If you're distracted by feelings towards him or jealously towards her, the Titans can't function. Robin would tell you that."

Raven looked thoughtful as she stood up, "You've given me a lot to think about, Edward." She left a moment later and Edward decided to head to the medical bay for a moment to see how things were going.


	9. Terra starts to heal

As he approached the bay, though, he heard more sobbing coming from there. It was Terra's voice, though.

"What am I going to do, Garfield?" she said, "My powers are gone, people aren't going to want me around much."

Edward knocked, "May I come in?"

Terra looked up at Edward and nodded.

Edward walked in and sat down on Terra's other side. It didn't take an empath to see that Terra was barely able to cope. Her mind was rejecting everything. Edward suspected that would happen.

Beast Boy stood up to go and Edward said, "Stay, please. I could use your help."

"How can I help her, though?" he complained.

"By putting action to whatever you've been telling her, BB," Edward said, "Terra needs YOU, her best friend, to help her through this."

Edward suspected that her mind was on the verge of shredding itself. He also was afraid that the loss of her abilities was also hurting her badly. If she was born with them, the loss could totally shred her personality. It'd be like losing an arm.

Terra wept through this and Edward gathered her into his arms, "It's going to be OK, Terra. That's a promise!"

"How?" she cried, "I threw everything I cherished away because I made a mistake. How can I start over again? I'm sick of starting over!"

"It's not easy starting over, Terra. I ought to know. For centuries, I was forced to hide what I truly am. Every few years, I would have to move on and start over. If I got lucky, I could stay for a decade or two. But, people were quick to judge someone different. Well, when that would happen, I'd move on," Edward explained.

"People make mistakes! I make mistakes as well, Terra. The best thing you can do is reflect on those mistakes, learn from them and apply those lessons to the future.

"The Titans still accept you. They still want you on the team. Robin gave you a communicator, right?"

She nodded, "He said it's honorary."

"Robin, and the rest of the team, needs to know that they can completely trust you. No more lies, no more deception. Everyone else needs to know that you're not going to be swayed by pretty words and empty actions. The only thing that was good about your being around Slade was he did help you gain control over your powers. But, it came with a heavy price. A price that you already paid, in full, girl! Quit beating yourself up. Robin could turn you over to the authorities…He's not going to go there because you paid the price in his mind. That's what counts."

"Will they ever fully accept me?" she asked.

"We already have, Terra," Beast Boy said, "Please remember that. We haven't even touched your room and we visited you a lot. Terra, your plaque called you a Teen Titan…A True Friend. That's acceptance if I ever heard it."

She looked at Edward, who merely nodded.

"You haven't noticed that you've got on your Titan uniform, do you?" Edward said.

Terra looked down and realized that the uniform was different and brushed her hand through her hair and stopped.

"What happened to that crap Slade used on me?" she said.

"That's probably still part of the statue fragments," Edward said, "When the stone collapsed, Robin had to drape his cape over you."

She blushed, "Someone felt me up?"

"No," Edward said, "We had nothing but your wellbeing in mind. Soon as Beast Boy caught you, he closed his eyes as Robin removed his cape and covered you up. Starfire dressed you while Raven and I were inside your mind. Robin would not have allowed anything improper to happen."

Terra relaxed visibly and said, "Thank you for that. It does help…more than you know."

"It was no problem, Terra," Beast Boy said, "We couldn't let anything bad happen to you."

"I see that now," she said with a sigh, knowing that the Titans worked together to free her and protected her, even when she was out cold. She looked at Edward and before he could react, she grabbed him for a hug.

He returned the gesture as she said, "Thank you for releasing me from that hell. It'll take a while to readjust, but, could I get my abilities back?"

Edward said, "We know it will take a while to adapt, Terra, but, you're welcome. I'll let Robin and Cyborg know you want things restored. I suspect that it might take you time to rediscover them, so, we can work on control here at the Tower."

Terra released the hug and grabbed Beast Boy for his hug…and kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks for believing in me, Beast Boy," she said. He blushed, "You're welcome, Terra."

Edward was starting to feel that Terra had turned the corner with the way she was starting to come around in her thinking. It would still take a while, but, Edward would be working with the young girl over the next several months.


	10. Blinded by the Light or first fight

Chapter 5

[A week later]

Terra had undergone the procedure to correct her damaged DNA and while the prognosis looked good, there was still no sign of her abilities returning.

Cyborg had said at the time, "Be patient, Terra. Your powers will take a while to re-establish themselves. I don't know how long it will take for that to happen."

So, when the team was called out on missions, Terra was tasked with watching the Tower and maintaining communications with the rest of the team.

But, the time she spent with Beast Boy was helping her to heal emotionally. The crying spells were getting farther and farther apart as it sank in that she had a home and she had been accepted.

Word was already getting to the criminal element in Jump City that the Titans had taken in a new member that was tougher than he looked. That suited Edward just fine. He was settling into his role on the team and that made him happy, in fact, he was the happiest he'd been in a long time. He was developing a friendship with Raven the most, oddly enough.

Edward, with the team's permission, assumed the role of head cook. That would mean less pizza nights and more healthy stuff. Beast Boy appreciated that as well since he knew that Edward respected that Beast Boy was a true vegan so there would always be a meal for him to enjoy. The others were non-vegan, so, they got what they liked as well.

Edward took Raven under his wing first cooking wise as he heard about the "Pancake Disaster". Edward blanched hearing about that. She had burnt the outside of the pancakes and the insides were still dough. Only Starfire could tolerate it…in fact, she loved those. Beast Boy and Robin puked on Cyborg, though.

Since then, Edward helped Raven with knowing how to mix and cook pancakes properly. Her second attempt turned out much better and after some initial wariness, the team enjoyed it. Raven actually smiled broadly when the team took their first bite and heaved a collective sigh.

That was mixed in with training sessions and, of course, the need to take down some villains.

One villain was Dr. Light. Three days after Terra's rescue, he had tried to commit a robbery which got the Titan's attention. After getting the location from the Titan computer, the Titans, save Terra, loaded up on Edward's back for the teleport to the crime scene.

Edward had landed and as the team got down, or flew off, Dr. Light took notice of the new arrivals.

"Time to face the light," he supposed.

"Nah," Edward said, "Gonna put your lights out."

Dr. Light fired off some sort of light based weapon. Edward countered by altering his scales to the mirror finish. The weapon, for the most part, reflected back the way it came, knocking Light down.

"Titans, GO!" Robin called out, taking advantage of the distraction. Edward formed a hawk and dove at Light. Beast Boy took the hint and also formed his own hawk.

Starfire was carrying Robin, who launched a bird-a-rang at Light in the hopes of tying him up. That didn't work as Light recovered pretty quickly.

Cyborg fired his sonic cannon and that was countered by Light's energy weapon. Meanwhile, Raven was holding back for a reason. Turned out that Light was deathly afraid of the half-demon. He had made the mistake of causing her to lose control of her rage and he saw the inky blackness that powered Raven. So, she had learned that the quickest way to get him was to mimic that encounter.

Beast Boy and Edward landed and Edward allowed Beast Boy to take the lead with a nod. Beast Boy formed a Rhino and charged Light as Edward formed a bull and charged as well. Both hit Light and aimed him right for Raven.

Light rolled several times as he hit and as he got up, he snarled, "No one does that to Dr. Light!"

Robin said, "You might not want to turn around then."

Light fell for it and turned around to see Raven riding her suddenly enlarged cloak that was rippling in a very menacing manner. Edward sensed that she was actually very calm about this, however.

The trick worked. Light disarmed himself and held his hands out. His face paled and broke out in a cold sweat as well.

Robin smiled and put the handcuffs on his wrists.

"Smart move," Robin said, "We'll have you back in your nice cozy cell soon enough. Edward, could you call Terra for us?"

Edward nodded as he shapeshifted back to human and pulled out his communicator.

He opened it and said, "Edward to Terra."

Her face appeared and she said, "What's shaking, Edward?"

"We're done here, Terra. Could you let the police know where we're at?" Edward replied.

"No need," she said, "They are en route and should be there in a few minutes."

Edward's enhanced hearing did pick up several police cars en route and he knew that Terra had already alerted officers to the problem.

"Thanks, Terra," Edward said and closed the communicator.

He glared at Light, but, refrained from saying anything. The police came over a minute later and took custody of the prisoner before returning Robin's handcuffs to him.

"Let's go home," Robin said, "Nice work, BB and Edward! That was perfect, knocking Light next to Raven."

BB blushed. "Not a problem," Edward said, "Happy to help!"

"Glad to have you on the team," BB said.


	11. Edward the Matchmaker

[What? No corny jokes?] Edward heard in his head.

[Now Rae,] Edward replied [BB seems to be capable of being serious sometimes.]

Over the past week, Edward and Raven had discovered that they had a telepathic link and made a quick but necessary agreement: Don't delve into the other's mind without permission. Both were eager to agree to that one!

Edward heard a soft laugh in his head as a reply, but, it wasn't a sarcastic laugh. He'd learned that Raven was, indeed, capable of other emotions. He was a little concerned that she was transferring her latent feelings for the other dragon onto him and would have to talk to her at some point.

Then again, try as he might, he had to realize that he was also having feelings towards her. He sighed to himself.

"Who wants a flight back?" Edward said.

Starfire and Raven opted to fly back on their own, as did Beast Boy. That left Cyborg and Robin for the "Hitching of the ride," as Starfire would put it.

Edward shapeshifted to Dragon and after they got on, took to the air. Edward climbed high enough that he could see the Titan Tower in the distance and banked towards it.

"Eta 10 minutes, folks," he said as he glided on the thermal currents. He wasn't in that big of a hurry to head back, but, knew that the guys would want to celebrate putting Light behind bars once more. Edward was pleased in that he didn't have to rely on his breath weapons to take care of this guy.

After about 10 minutes, they were over the stretch of water between Jump City and the Tower, then, landing on the roof. The others got down or landed besides Edward as he shapeshifted back to human.

Well, needless to say, though, there was a nice little celebration when they went inside.

But, as time passed, Terra had started to prove herself to the team once more. It was obvious that Beast Boy had made his decision. It didn't take an empath to see that his feelings towards Terra hadn't changed, and she was feeling the same towards him.

[A few days later]

Edward had been laying down when there was a knock on his door. He got up to see that Terra was there. She had realized that Edward truly cared for her as a friend and was the only one on the team unencumbered by her crimes of the past so she felt that she could talk to him.

"Hi, Terra," Edward said, "What's shaking?"

She smiled, "Not too much. I think my powers are starting to come back."

"That's great news!" he replied, "How can you tell?"

"I was outside and I was barely able to lift a small stone with my abilities," she expressed.

"Remember that we're going to want to help you with control this time around, little lady," Edward said, "That's what friends and team mates do for each other."

"I know, and I'm learning," she replied. Edward didn't have to ask what she was learning. Her mental stability was improving due to her feelings towards the green shapeshifter. She certainly didn't care about his "Spock ears" or that he was green.

"Glad to know that," Robin said, coming up behind her. Terra jumped, then, stumbled into Edward's chest. He gently made sure that she didn't fall.

"I'm sorry," Robin said with a blush, "Didn't mean to eavesdrop or frighten you, Terra."

She waved it off, "No harm done. You need to know this anyway. My powers might be coming back."

"I'm not surprised," he said, "It had to take a while for your original DNA to kick in."

She sighed, "I know. Edward reminded me that the team's ready to help me with control."

"Damn right," the Boy Wonder said with a smile and putting his hands on Terra's shoulders, "I wish you had known that before, but, we've been given a 2nd chance to rectify that. When you're ready, so are the Titans.

"Terra, I'm sorry. I had figured out that you were having issues with control. Beast Boy didn't tell me or the rest of the Titans. But, my revealing that pushed you down that path, and, for that, I apologize."

"Not your fault, Robin," she said, "Beast Boy was right. I chose that path, not you and not Slade, even though he fed me some BS. I'm glad he's dead."

"Must have been one bad guy," Edward supposed.

"Yeah," Robin replied, "You've got access to the Titan criminal database, it's not hard to find his file."

[Be careful, Edward!] Raven said telepathically, [Slade's a sore topic with Robin. And, don't tell Terra this: He's back from the dead. It's a long story, but, if Terra knew, it could do her more harm right now.]

[All right,] he replied, [You know them better than I do for now. I'll follow your lead. Does Slade's file show him as alive, though?]

A cold silence was the reply from the new link. Edward tried not to let Robin or Terra know what he was feeling.

"Could I see you in private?" Edward asked, looking at Robin.

"Sure. Would you excuse us, Terra? We'll catch up to you shortly," he said.

Terra smiled, "Sure thing." She headed down the hall to the common area and out of sight.

Edward went into his room and Robin followed, "What's going on?"

"Can we talk about Slade for a few moments?" Edward asked, "If it gets too uncomfortable, we can stop, though. I don't want to push you too hard."

"I guess," Robin replied.

Edward sat down and pulled the keyboard towards him and then pulled Slade's file.

"OK, I see that it says that he was killed when Terra was petrified. She believes him to be dead, right?"

"Yes, she does," Robin replied.

"Yet, two years later, it says that he's alive?" Edward asked.

"That's also true," Robin said, "When Raven's father tried to take over the world, he brought Slade back from the dead as a horrible skeletal creature. Trigon had promised him flesh and blood and reneged on it. Slade and I were forced to team up for a short while. I had to rescue Raven. Slade, true to form, was only interested in his selfish needs."

Edward nodded, "Slade wanted a body back, I suppose. But, the problem here is going to be if Terra finds out now. She's come a long way in the last week and a half and, well, if she sees that he's back…It would harm her emotionally."

Robin gave it some thought and pulling the keyboard to him, hid the sections of the entry that related to Slade's return, making it invisible to the team, except for Robin.

[You got Robin to fix this problem?] Raven asked.

[Of course, dear,] he replied, [We're going to have to tell the team at some point of this mental link, though. That trip into Terra's mind really cemented this.]

A soft sigh came through the link, [I know. It was a risk we had to take. But, then again, it will allow Gar and Terra their relationship after all.]

[True,] Edward replied to her then focused on the matter in front of him.

"There's something else, Robin," Edward said, "Since Raven and I teamed up to coax Terra back to the land of the living, we've been telepathically linked. We only talk that way for now. We've agreed to not pry into each other's minds."

Robin smiled, "Don't worry about that. I didn't study under the Batman for years and not learned to read the signs in front of me. I figured out that you and Raven were bonded somehow. You tend to focus inward when she's talking to you. I can also see that you and her have developed feelings for one another. Guess that makes three 'undeclared' couples in the tower." He chuckled at that one.

"Have you told Star how you really feel towards her?" Edward asked.

"How did you know?" Robin said, trying to deflect the question.

"I'm nearly 3,000 years old!" Edward said, "I'd have to be blind to not see how you and her work together. The subtle flirting, for example. The look in your eyes when she's in the room. Believe me, she looks at you the same way. I can sense her underlying jealousy at times. Luckily, it's not directed at Rae or Terra. I can also sense your own jealousy. You might as well make it official and commit to one another."

"You mean marriage?" Robin said, a huge drop of sweat forming.

"Not right now," Edward said after a moment, "Just commit to each other as boyfriend and girlfriend. I think that the team would support you."

Robin relaxed and said, "You're right. Star and I have had mutual feelings for a while now. But, how do I commit to her?"

"Close your eyes for a second," Edward said. Robin complied and in the space of a few seconds, he'd shapeshifted to Starfire's form.

"OK, friend Robin," he said, using Star's voice as well, "You may do the opening of the eyes now."

He did just that and said, "Starfire?"

"No," Edward replied, "Just the copy of Starfire that you need."

"What do you mean?" Robin said.

"Well," Edward-as-Starfire replied, "You need to tell Star about the feelings of the heart. You can do the practicing on me, friend Robin."

It took a while, but, Robin finally got through his nerves and told "Starfire" how he felt.

Edward switched back to his normal appearance, "See, that's not so bad, I hope."

Robin sighed and stood up, "You sure about that?"

"Absolutely, Robin," Edward said, "If you wait too long, Starfire will move on. If that happens, the team may not survive.

"Take her out to dinner as well. No communicators, though. Romance can't afford to be distracted by a call for the Titans. Cyborg, Rae, BB and I can handle any problems, right?"

Robin replied, "I guess so. But, in order to tell her, should I take her to a good restaurant?"

"Of course!" Edward replied. He got up and went to his nightstand and pulled a card out of his wallet.

"Take this," Edward said, "My treat for the night."

Robin reached out and took hold of a platinum Visa card.

"You sure about this?" he asked.

"Go!" Edward said, "If they have any questions, have them call me here at the Tower…or let me know where you're going to eat and I'll call ahead and let them know that it's OK for you to have my card."


	12. Dragon and Demoness

Robin smiled as he left the room. Edward felt that his job, at least with Robin and Starfire was done. As he settled down for a short nap, he remembered that he was concerned about Terra. If her powers were starting to return as she said, would it unbalance her emotionally or would she adapt better this time?

He sat back and started to meditate on the problem, but, as he did, there was a gentle knock on the door. He recognized the knock and said, "Come on in, Rae!"

The door opened and, as he figured, the demoness was there.

"Are you busy?" she asked.

"Nah, I was going to meditate on some things, that's all," he said.

"Mind if I join you?" Raven asked, "It's time for me to do that anyway."

"Not at all, Rae," Edward said. Raven had given him permission to call her by a nickname several days ago, so, it was cool with her. But, when Beast Boy tried it, he ended up smacked for his trouble. Terra got a huge laugh out of that incident, resulting in a deep blush for the green changeling.

She sat down and then levitated about a foot off the floor. Edward assumed a lotus position as well, but, he didn't have the ability to levitate.

"Find your center," she advised gently and as their breathing settled into the rhythm needed to concentrate, she started repeating "Azarath Metrion Zinthos". Edward had started repeating that as well, realizing it was relaxing and helped him to find that center.

During the session, Edward barely became aware of a small gray hand holding his.

[You OK?] she asked telepathically.

[Considering the problems with our other new member,] he replied.

[Terra will be OK. She has the friends she needed the first time around to help her,] she reassured him, [Don't let her feel that she's not wanted, though.]

[Kind of hard, Rae] he replied.

[Why is that?] she asked. Edward sighed mentally.

[I need to balance time with the entire team. It seems that since I've been here, everyone has asked for advice or just needed a shoulder. Then again, I can't shake the feelings I'm having towards another member of the team…one you ought to know,] was his response.

[That's sweet,] she said, [I know the Titan you mean and, well, she has the same feelings towards you.]

Hearing Raven admit that she was having strong feelings for Edward snapped him out of the trance in a heartbeat. It was impossible to lie when talking telepathically and Edward's heart jumped for joy.

Raven also came out of her trance and said aloud, "When did you start feeling this way?"

"Right after Terra woke up. I know it's a risk seeing how you were heart-broken by that other dragon. I should teach him a lesson, to be honest with you. But, I know that he's gone for good, so, nothing to worry about. I meant what I said though about not hurting you and not being the same as him," he said, "When did you realize your feelings?"

She smiled softly and giggled, "After our talk about Beast Boy having to choose between Terra and I. I knew deep down that he'd take her back and that my feelings towards him were more of family. I knew that when his heart spoke to her and jostled her enough to come back.

"Edward, I know you'd never hurt me intentionally. When our minds link, even telepathically, all I sense from you in a rekindled love. Malchior was a reach of desperation on my part. I had thought that the team didn't understand me or thought I was creepy.

"At least Beast Boy had the courage to admit he thought I'm creepy, but, still wanted to be my friend. But, his heart belongs to Terra. I'm happy with you in my life."

Edward happened to notice that Raven's uniform had switched colors from purple to white just then and raised an eyebrow.

"Rae?" he asked and pointed at the change.

"Don't worry about that, love," she said, "It means that I'm truly happy now." She reached over and gave him a hug, which was happily returned.

"So, now what?" Edward pondered, "Robin's going to commit to Starfire tonight or tomorrow. I got a feeling that Terra and BB will commit soon. Might as well make it a threesome." He was rewarded with a playful smack and a soft laugh.


	13. Edward lets cat out of bag

Before the conversation could continue, though, the lights flashed red. Edward and Raven headed for the common area as the rest of the team arrived.

"Titans, Trouble!" Robin said, "Looks like Cinderblock and Plasmus are on the rampage again. They're on the other side of the city."

"Can you get a visual of the area?" Edward asked, "If that's possible, I'll teleport the team over."

Robin hit a few keys and brought up the TV helicopter footage.

"This is live," Robin said. Edward nodded and shapeshifted to his mini-dragon form and said, "Bus is leaving, hop on!" The team didn't need any further encouragement.

"Terra," Robin said, "Keep monitoring the situation and let us know of anything important."

"Will do, Robin!" she replied with a smile and sat down where Robin was.

Edward teleported to the scene and landed quickly. Raven and Starfire took to the air, as did Beast Boy in eagle form.

"Edward, Cyborg and I will handle Cinderblock. Raven, Star and Beast Boy take Plasmus. Titans, GO!" Robin said. Cyborg charged his sonic cannon.

Edward took to the air as well and headed for Cinderblock.

"Hey! Rocks for brains! Over here," Cyborg called out. Cinderblock looked at the group as Edward fired off his lightning breath, Cyborg fired his cannon and Robin let fly some explosive projectiles. All three attacks hit Cinderblock, causing minimal damage.

Cinderblock roared in anger and ripped out a chunk of pavement and threw it. Edward climbed out of the way and used his tail to throw the pavement back to the source. The pavement hit Cinderblock and staggered him for a second.

Edward let loose with the fire breath, forcing Cinderblock into a defensive position. Cyborg kept firing with the sonic cannon keeping Cinderblock from mounting an offense.

It took several minutes before Cinderblock finally threw up his hands and surrendered. Robin used his rope to secure the prisoner.

"Don't even think of running," Edward said, "I can just as easily encase you in ice."

Just then, Plasmus, seeing his partner giving up swatted Raven hard and she flew in an arc.

"Raven!" Edward and Starfire yelled at the same time. Edward took to the air as Starfire and Beast Boy (in hawk form) also raced towards the demoness. Edward's eyes took on a dangerous red glow as he poured on the speed and caught up to Raven just as Starfire arrived. She caught Raven.

"Take Raven back to the Tower, Star," Robin ordered.

"Plasmus is mine!" Edward snarled, turning around and heading towards the purple beast.

Beast Boy also turned around and headed for Plasmus.

"What's this bastard's weakness?" Edward asked.

"Freeze the goop," Robin advised.

Robin and Cyborg saw Edward's ridges start to glow a white color and as Edward got closer and landed, both passengers got down in a hurry.

They saw the angry red glow in Edward's eyes.

"Plasmus isn't going to be feeling so hot," Beast Boy quipped as he landed and returned to his human form. Robin groaned at the bad joke.

Plasmus turned towards the threat. By then, Edward's ridges were a bright white and the second they laid eyes on each other, Plasmus got Edward's full force ice breath and started to freeze solid.

A few moments later, Edward ceased fire and Cyborg shattered the goop, leaving a very cold human in the center of the mess.

"Let me handle this, Edward," Robin said. Edward snarled but complied, standing back as Robin handcuffed the villain.

Edward reformed his human form and looking straight into the guy's eyes said, "My girl best not be harmed…Or I'LL TAKE IT OUT OF YOUR HIDE! Got it?" He stormed off without waiting for an answer.

Edward was too upset to realize he let the cat out of the bag regarding himself and Raven, but, noticed the looks on the rest of the team.

Edward tried to contact Raven telepathically without success as he waited for the police to take Plasmus and Cinderblock into custody. That took a few minutes and gave Edward time to calm down.

His communicator beeped. He opened it to see Terra there.

"Edward," she said, "Raven's in the infirmary. From what I could get out of Starfire, she was swatted by Plasmus. We need Cyborg ASAP as Raven appears to be in a trance."

"I'll have the team back shortly," Edward said, "Cy knows more about Raven than I do."

"Ask Star to make sure that Raven's comfortable," Robin said, looking over Edward's shoulder.

"Will do," Terra replied and cut the connection.

"The police will need a statement from you," Robin said gently, "They'll meet us at the Tower later on, though. I told them you were concerned about a team member and that took priority.

"And, out of curiosity, when were you going to tell the team that you and Raven were an item?"

Edward blushed as his jaw dropped.

Robin chuckled, "It's all good. Raven needs someone to care for. But, I will tell you this: Hurt Raven like Malchior did and, immortal or not, I'll personally castrate you before letting the team have what's left."

Edward said, "That's supposed to frighten me? Listen, Robin…My intentions with Rae are a lot more honorable than this other creature were. I'm not going to intentionally hurt her. She knows that very well and is accepting my word. We're linked telepathically, remember? She'd know if I was lying."

Robin said, "Just take good care of her, that's all the team can ask. Let's go home." He smiled as Edward walked a short distance and shapeshifted.

Robin and Cyborg got back on as Beast Boy shapeshifted to a hawk.

"I'm teleporting back, BB," Edward said, "Sure you don't want a ride?"

Beast Boy flew over and landed.

"Hey, can't refuse a free taxi," he quipped after returning to human form.

Edward lifted off and a moment later teleported to the Tower's Infirmary.

As the others got down, Edward shapeshifted to human and went over to Starfire.

"Friend Edward," she said, giving him a hug, "Raven seems to not want to come out of her trance for some reason. She's unharmed."

Edward rubbed his arms where the young lady had squeezed pretty hard and replied, "Hmmm. I wonder what's wrong, then."

He walked over to Raven and felt her forehead. It was cool to the touch and she looked pale, even for one that was gray in color. The readouts showed a steady pulse and respiration rate. Her blood pressure was normal, so, there was nothing overly wrong physically.

[Raven, dear? Are you OK?] he asked over their link.

Silence was the answer.

He put both hands on either side of her face, using the known contact points and tried again to contact her telepathically. There was still no luck even with direct contact.

"Be careful," Cyborg said, "We're not sure what's happening in her mind right now. It's a wicked scary place."

Beast Boy shuddered, "It was scary. Cy and I were there years ago. She's got this weird mirror that is a portal."

"Can you get this mirror for me?"

"No one goes into Raven's room," Robin said, "She gets really nasty when that happens."

"If she's having trouble getting out, I think she'd overlook it. I'll take the heat if she gets mad," Edward said.

Robin said, "You and Cyborg can go in and get this mirror. Make sure it's covered up, though. Bring it back here, though."

Edward and Cyborg went to Raven's room and he entered an override code to get into her room.

"You see it anywhere?" Edward asked. Cyborg said, "Yeah, it's on her dresser."

Edward's eyes adjusted to the scene and saw a mirror sitting where Cyborg had mentioned and he stepped in to get it. He found one of Raven's towels and gently wrapped the mirror, face down.

They headed back to where Robin was and set the mirror down beside her.

"We'll wait 24 hours," Robin said, "Then, we'll decide if we need to use it."

"That's fine with me," Edward said, "I can stay up for 72 hours before any problems happen. I want to stay next to her."

"We understand," Cyborg said, "I'd want to stay near my girl too, if she were hurt."

"You and Raven are boyfriend and girlfriend, friend Edward?" Starfire asked.

"Well, this isn't the way I wanted to tell you guys, but, Starfire's right," Edward said, "Since helping Terra here, Rae and I have been more than telepathically linked."

"Glorious news!" Starfire said, grabbing Edward in a huge hug. Terra, who had arrived while Edward was getting Raven's mirror smiled.

"Wow!" she said, "Something good came out of my predicament. I'm happy for you." She also gave Edward a hug, but, far gentler than Starfire's hug. Edward returned both hugs.

Beast Boy turned serious for a moment, "I was there when the last dragon broke her heart. You treat Raven right or you'll see a side of me that none of the other Titans liked. Raven's like family to me."

"Folks," Edward said with a sigh, "I'm not Malchior! Get that straight, all right? He shattered her heart, hurt her in ways that I find repulsive. Raven's been in my mind telepathically and vice-versa. I'm not going to hurt her, not intentionally. She knows that. She knows my intentions are honorable as well. Please understand that. Telepaths and empaths can't lie, not to each other.

"Beast Boy, I know how you really helped Raven that time. Rae's not going to say it, but, I will: Thank you.

"Terra, you're a rather special teenager, powers or not. Without your act of redemption and sacrifice, Rae and I wouldn't have met. You've earned our respect and trust."

The Titans looked embarrassed and Robin said, "I'm sorry, man. We're all protective of Raven, especially after Malchior. But, we're going to stand with you regardless."

"You know," Cyborg said, "This calls for a celebration! But, we can't have any celebration until Raven comes out of her trance."

Edward felt a stirring in his mind from Raven. She was slowly coming out of the trance on her own.

"She's starting to awaken, I think," he said.

[Ugh! What's going on?] she complained.

[Well, Hi to you, too. You all right?] he replied.

[Yeah, I'm fine. Just want to sleep,] she stated, [Kind of hard with you guys talking about us.]

[You heard?] Edward asked with a blush.

[Some of it, smarty-pants,] she retorted, [It's all right. They mean well. Tell them that the feeling is mutual and then to get the hell out.]

"Titans," he said aloud, returning his focus to the team, "Raven's out of her trance, but, tired. She wants you folks to know she appreciated the love and protection…and that the feeling is mutual. She also said 'Get the hell out'. She needs to sleep."

"Yeah, that sounds like her," Robin said with a smile, "Let's go, Titans. Edward, you can stay, though. She'd appreciate the alone time with you."

Edward pointed at the mirror that was no longer needed. Robin got the message and carefully wrapped it up. Taking it with him, the rest of the team left.

[They're gone, dear,] he said via the link.

Raven sleepily replied, [Good for now. Wake me in a few hours, K? You can meditate as well. Hold my hand, if you would, though. I may need you to help me the rest of the way.]

[Should I get your special mirror?]

[No. I'll be fine without it. But, when the time comes, I want to show you something. That mirror's a portal into my mind and my emotions. They've been begging to meet you as well. Can we talk later?]

Edward took her hand gently and replied, [Of course we can. Get your rest. The others can wait a while.]

Raven yawned through the link and fell silent.

Edward grabbed a nearby chair and sat down.

"Azarath metrion zinthos," he started to chant, finding his "center" and meditating alongside his new love's sleeping form…


	14. Edward visits Nevermore

[Chapter 6]

[Several days later]

Things had settled down in the Tower quite a bit. Raven had awoken without any major problems, which meant that the kid who, as Plasmus, clobbered Raven didn't have to worry about an angry Edward coming to visit him in prison.

Robin and Starfire were able to enjoy a night on the town and opened up about their feelings toward one another, so, the team was told that there was another couple there. That move emboldened Terra and Beast Boy to have a long talk and they told the team that they were going to be dating as well.

Edward smiled, knowing that while Cyborg was odd man out, he would support the three couples. The team would grow closer together as a result of the pairings.

The team started to get used to the white Raven as well. Her abilities were somewhat enhanced with the feelings she was developing. Needless to say that while she was still quite sarcastic in her speech, there was times when Edward detected the warmth behind it.

But, the day came when Raven said, "Edward, let's head for my room. There's something there I promised to show you."

Beast Boy started to say something but, one look from Edward and Raven silenced whatever he would have said.

"Not a word, Beast Boy," Edward said, "Not unless you want to be teleported to another time…or dimension."

"Who me?" he squeaked.

"Yeah, you," Raven said seriously, "It's not going to be what you might think…unless you're thinking a certain mirror."

Beast Boy smiled then, "Be careful, Edward. Her mind can be dangerous."

Edward smiled, "I know. Heck, I was in Terra's mind and that was an interesting time. We'll let you know what happens."

He took Raven's hand as they walked to her room.

"I usually don't allow anyone in here," she said a few moments later after the door closed.

She picked up her mirror and said, "Just relax. You'll be sucked in, but, when you get your bearings, you can land safely. You'll see different versions of me there, just like with Terra. Watch out for Anger and Rage, though, they might be very nasty.

"I'll follow you in, though."

Edward took the mirror and looked into it for several seconds. As he did, he felt that suction she talked about and within a few seconds, he was in her mind.

He saw that he was falling towards a section of rocks and quickly formed a mini-dragon to recover. He landed safely and wondered aloud, "OK, where to now?"

"Follow me," a familiar voice said. Edward turned to see Raven landing. She was wearing her purple uniform as she approached Edward.

"Well," she said, "Welcome to what makes me who I am. The other emotions are waiting for us nearby. I'm sure you'll be here again, but, they've been bugging me to meet you."

"Do we fly or walk?" Edward asked.

"Fly," she said sardonically, "It's faster."

Edward flapped his wings and took to the air. As he did, he saw Raven fall into formation and even take a slight lead.

As they flew on, Raven gave him a rundown on what to expect.

"Happy will be in pink and in a good mood, obviously. She'll be the easiest one to talk to.

"Timid will be in gray. She's very sensitive, as Beast Boy and Cyborg discovered. Treat her with kid gloves.

"Brave…she's probably going to challenge you. If that happens, just don't beat her too bad.

"Rude will try to tear you down. She's the one that gives me the sarcasm for Beast Boy.

"Anger will really try to bait you. She's ticked at the whole world, but, she's minor compared to Rage. Rage is still confined but, sometimes, barely. She gets loose and it's hell.

"There's a few others as well. Affection will certainly be there…as will Love."

Raven grew silent then as they flew on. It seemed to take a long time, but, finally, Raven pointed and said, "Land there."

Raven started down, followed by Edward. They landed softly and Edward transformed back to human.

A girl in pink arrived and said, "Is this who I think it is?"

Raven nodded. That resulted in Happy giving Edward a hug, "I'm overjoyed to meet you! You make Raven very happy."

"Why the pink?" Edward asked.

"Cause it's my favorite color, silly!" Happy said with a laugh.

Another emotion arrived. Timid was, well, timid in her approach to Edward.

"Hi," she said shyly as she took slow steps.

"It's OK, Timid," Edward said gently, "I'm a friend. You're safe."

"You sure?" she asked, "Last time Raven felt this way, we were all hurt badly. I'm scared that it will happen again."

Edward's heart melted at that as he said, "That guy's gone for good. Raven's not going to be hurt by me. I'll protect her and the Titans. She'll never feel that kind of hurt again."

"Yeah, right," another one said, "Raven's been hurt too much! Last time, it was by a dragon like you! Just go away before I kick your ass!"

Edward stood up and looked at the emotion: Anger had arrived.

"Not gonna happen," Edward retorted, "I care about her too much. Malchior is nothing like me."

Anger charged at Edward with a snarl, "Prove it!"

Edward sidestepped the emotion and said, "I do not wish to fight you! You're part of Raven and if I fight you, you might end up hurt."

"Then, I'll kick your ass!" she said and as Edward watched, he saw what Dr. Light feared…Anger was riding on a billowing cape about 10 feet into the air.

Raven said, "You'll have to fight, Edward. If you don't, that will prove her point. She's wanting payback."

Edward sighed, "Fine. I'm not responsible if Anger gets hurt." He didn't really want to fight any aspect of Raven, but, Anger lashed out with a tentacle and Edward dove out of the way.

He formed a bull and charged towards the emotion, but, before he got there, he shapeshifted to a hawk and struck the emotion, forcing her backwards by the blow.

"You'll pay for that!" Anger snarled and fired off a black energy bolt that surrounded Edward. He flexed his wings…or tried to as they were pinned down.

Next thing he knew, he was slammed into a rock pillar and slid down, dazed by the impact. He shook his head to clear it and transformed to his mini-dragon form.

"I really didn't want to use this form," he muttered.

He loosed a low power lightning bolt that hit Anger, knocking her backwards, then, before she could recover, Edward blasted her with the ice, encasing her.

"LET ME OUTTA HERE!" Anger screamed.

"Not till ya chill out," Edward said calmly.

"Good one!" Happy cheered from the sidelines. Edward winked over at her.

Anger wasn't done yet…"Azarath Metrion Zinth…" Edward had gone over and clamped his paw over her mouth, breaking the spell.

"Sorry, love," he said, "I can't let you do that. You've no idea how my own version of Anger would erupt if provoked."

Anger tried biting Edward, only to moan in pain as her teeth hit Edward's miniature scales.

"Diamond hard," he said, "You're lucky if you didn't chip a tooth trying that. I got all day, toots. Let's just calm down and channel that anger at someone who deserves it. Raven loves me and I love her and this little tantrum only hurts her. I can respect how you feel after her heart was broken, please try to respect my feelings."

Anger slumped in defeat. Edward took his paw off and gently lifted Anger's chin.

"Truce?" Edward offered, "Tell ya what. I intentionally hurt Raven, you can kick my ass…fair enough?"

Anger nodded, "You have a deal." She was, well, angry that Edward beat her, but, she'd wait and see if Edward broke his end of the bargain.

Edward stepped back and looked at how to free the emotion from the ice. Without warning, he spun around and struck the ice with his tail, causing the ice to crack and split open.

"You all right?" Raven asked her angry side.

"Yeah, just freaking peachy," Anger snarled, brushing the ice off her cloak, then, shivered.

Raven shrugged, "Serves you right."

"Bite me!" Anger said.

"And Rude, too," Edward noted.

They heard a belch. "Nope, that's Rude over there," Raven said, pointing to yet another 'emotion'. Edward wondered why Rude was an emotion when that's more behavioral in nature.

"So," Rude asked, "Who the hell in the guy with the scales? Some lizard?"

"Play nice, Rude," Raven warned, "Edward's part of my life and I won't have him insulted."

"But, I can still be myself with that green grass stain, right?" Rude asked snidely.

"Sure," Raven said, "Why not?"

"Awesome! Wait till I think of more stuff to call him next time he tells a bad joke!" Rude said, heading for the rest of the gang.

There was a white version of Raven who showed up and walked over to Edward and before he could react, she grabbed him into a bearhug and kissed him deeply.

"You must be either affection or Love," he presumed when she let him up for air.

"Well, I am the strongest one she has," the emotion replied, "I am the side of Raven that, yes, is Love and Affection. You've no idea how we waited for Raven to accept that she could love and trust once more. Malchior almost killed this side of Raven.

"But, we know that you're just the opposite of that guy and will treat us like royalty. You've healed her…and us as well."

"It's you I need to thank," Edward said, "I think Raven realized that there was a similar issue. It's been a long time, centuries actually, when there wasn't that special person in my life. Who would have known that person would be Raven?"

Raven herself said, "I knew that the first time you tried a mental link, actually. But, we both know that what we feel for one another is for-real. That's what counts. The other Titans trust him as well.

"We need to head back, Edward, I promised Robin we wouldn't be long."

Edward knew that there would be other trips in the future, so, he said good-bye to the gathered emotions, including Anger who tried to spit into Edward's face, only to get chewed by Happy, Timid and Love/Affection.

Edward took to the "air" and Raven said her mantra and a blinding flash enveloped Edward…


	15. Problems at the Pizza Palace

[Raven's Room]

Edward looked around and saw that he was back in Raven's room. She awoke from her deep meditation and smiled softly.

"I need to apologize for Anger's outburst, dear," she said, "I didn't expect her to want to fight you."

"It's OK, Rae," he replied, "no harm done and Anger knows that I'm not going to be pushed around. She can either trust me or at least tolerate me, cause, I'm not leaving anytime soon."

Edward looked at the clock and realized that the trip actually took several hours. Luckily there wasn't any calls for the Titans to deal with and it was time to get dinner ready for the team.

He had planned on fixing spaghetti for the team, but, it was a little late to be worried about that, so, he decided to postpone that idea till the next day. He needed to get supplies anyway as the team was running short of several things.

They left the room and headed for the common area. As they entered, they were greeted by a rare sight: Terra was playing the Gamestation with Beast Boy and they both looked like they were enjoying it. Robin was going through the daily crime reports, Cyborg was watching Terra and Beast Boy and Starfire flew over to Edward.

"Friend Edward," she said, "Would you like to volley the ball with us after dinner?"

"I'd like that, Star," he replied. As long as he was on the opposite team as Beast Boy, Edward had already learned that he liked to use his stronger animal forms, much to Rae's chagrin several times.

Edward didn't need other animals to compensate and thus Beast Boy was countered.

Edward looked in the fridge for dinner items and wasn't surprised to see things were running low. That meant Edward would be going on a store run after all.

"I'll be back shortly, guys," he said, "Gotta head to the store. We're low on stuff."

"How's the tofu supply?" Beast Boy called out.

"Same as the other stuff…I'll get you some more," Edward said.

"Don't forget to pick up some more meat," Cyborg said.

"I know," Edward said, "I'll probably pick some pizza up for tonight, though. Meat lovers for Cyborg, Veggie for BB, any other requests?"

"Those sound good," Robin said, "Maybe a supreme or super supreme for me."

Raven said, "Just make sure that there's enough for Star and I."

"What about you, Terra?" Edward asked.

"I'm happy with whatever you'd bring back, Edward," Terra said, looking at Edward with a soft smile before turning back to the game they were playing.

"OK," Edward said, "I might actually hold off on the stuff for tomorrow, then. I'll be back in about 45 minutes or so."

He headed up to the roof of the Tower and forming an eagle, headed for downtown and the Titan's usual pizza place.

He landed several minutes later and resumed his human form.

As he went in and started to place his order, though, a couple of rough looking teenagers came in. Edward made a mental note to keep an eye on them as he finished his order. He went to pay the cashier when he spotted a gun appear from nowhere and the owner snarled, "While you got the drawer open…Empty it or I blow this guy's head off."

"Not a smart idea, son," Edward said calmly, "If you give me the weapon, you get to leave, no questions asked."

"And if I don't?" the kid asked.

"Then, you might be lucky to crawl out," Edward said, "See, I'm with the Teen Titans and even solo, you will find me a very capable opponent."

[Rae, we have a problem at the pizza shop…Armed robbery in progress,] Edward said over his link.

[Need any backup?] she replied.

[Nah, just have the police respond without sirens, please,] Edward replied.

The gunman, however, wasn't in a mood to hear that the Titans were there…or just one member and said, "Gee, I whack a member of the Titans…Imagine the street cred for the gang. No one will touch the Palm Street Homies again!"

"Or imagine the utter embarrassment for your gang if you're wrong," Edward said.

Edward heard the hammer of the gun pulled back and before the gunman knew what had happened, Edward had snatched the gun out of the guy's hand and aimed it at the accomplish.

"Drop your weapon, son," Edward said, "From here, I'm a dead shot."

"Yeah," the disarmed gunman said, "And you're just as dead!" Edward felt a sharp blade entering his side and that HURT!

The kid withdrew the blade and made another attempt, only to see Edward turn on him, eyes glowing red.

He calmly put the pistol on the counter and snarled, "Hope you got insurance, buddy."

The two gunman tried to give Edward the bum's rush only to suddenly be picked up, one in each hand and thrown into the far wall.

[On second thought, hon…I could use the team here. These guys decided to put up a fight,] Edward said.

[You OK?] Raven asked, [You sound pained.]

[I'll be all right,] he replied, [Guy got cute and planted a blade into my side.]

As the two gunmen tried to get up, they saw an area of jet black energy coming through the wall.

It faded to reveal a very angry Raven there, as well as the rest of the team.

"I suggest you surrender, NOW!" Raven snarled, eyes not only glowing, but, there were four eyes and all glowing!

Edward examined the healing gash in his side before shapeshifting to mini-dragon. Beast Boy transformed into a mean looking wolf and snarled for effect. Cyborg had his sonic cannon lit up and aimed at the gunmen. Starfire's eyes were glowing a bright green and she had Starbolts ready.

"Do as Raven said," Edward said, "Unless you want the rest of the Titans to knock you into next week. My girl looks like she really doesn't need a reason to ship you off to another dimension."

"But, how did you survive?" the first one asked.

"Immortality has its advantages. Now, how about being good little MORTALS and surrender?" Edward said, lighting up his ridges red.

The gunmen opted to give up, seeing the arrayed forces against them.

Robin said, "Finally, you guys did the smart thing," as he frisked them and pulled a few more weapons off their person before handcuffing them.

Edward's ridges faded and he returned to normal. Beast Boy resumed his looks as the others stood down. Rae's eyes returned to normal as well.

The police showed up and Edward said, "Officers, I would like to press charges, please: Attempted Robbery, Armed Robbery, Assault with a deadly weapon. I should tack on attempted murder, but, as you can see, the wound is already healed, so I'll forgo that one."

"Well," one officer said, getting a good look at the prisoners, "We've been looking for you for a while now. Bet your Homies will be glad to see you when you get back to Palm Street."

"F*** you, pig!" the second one said.

"That's all right, officer," Edward said, "With my team leader's permission, I'm going to make sure that his friends know exactly how they got embarrassed this evening."

Robin said, "Fine with me. Maybe folks there would like to have a few nights of peace."

"Go there," the second one said, "And the boys will make hamburger out of you."

"Get real," Edward said, "You're going away for a long time and I doubt that you'll be released on bail regardless. I'll make sure that the name of your gang is crap when I'm done. They'll be the laughing stock of Jump City. Their two toughest bangers, taken down by one member of the Titans."

"How did they even know?" the first one asked.

"Ancient Azarathian Secret," Raven deadpanned.

"Show them to their cell, please," Edward said to the officers. They obliged and carted the gunmen to jail.

"You OK?" Edward asked the cashier.

She nodded, "Thanks for the save…and for keeping the damage low."

"Have your manager call me at Titan Tower tomorrow with an estimate on repairs/replacements," Robin said.

Edward went to hand the girl the money, again, and she said, "On the house."

"Thank you kindly, miss," Edward said, "But, please allow me to pay for the pizzas. That way, there's no rumors that the Titans get free items all the time, especially here. And, I don't want your manager firing you over this."

She nodded and took the money. "It'll be right up," she said.

"Might as well eat here," Robin supposed. The others nodded their approval and found a table.

The gang found a seat and Edward realized that an important team member wasn't there.

He said, "I'll be right back. I need to get someone."

Robin said, "All right. It would be a good idea to have Terra with us."

Raven spoke up, "I'll get her, no offense, I got you beat in the teleport department."

Edward chuckled, "After you, Rae."

By then, Beast Boy had contacted his girlfriend and let her know what was going on.

Raven quickly formed her soul self and headed to the Tower. A minute later, she returned with Terra. Both sat down, Raven next to Edward and Terra was, of course, sitting next to Beast Boy.

Plates and silverware were delivered and the waitress got Terra's drink order. A few minutes later, the pizzas were delivered and everyone dug in.

"You know, Edward," Robin said, "I should chew you out for not calling for backup before those punks almost got the better of you. However, all's well. Just be careful from now on. I really do not want to have to face an angry Raven."

"Sorry, man," Edward said, "She did ask through the link if I needed backup and declined. Lesson learned, though."

Raven said, "Good. I'd hate to have to toss you out the windows like I do with Beast Boy sometimes."

"Yeah," Beast Boy added, "I've been on the wrong end of Raven's temper a few times."

Edward sat there, munching on the pizza and enjoying his Pepsi. He was thinking how things changed in the last few weeks.

First, he joined a team when he was used to being a solo act. Then again, he was also used to being on a team.

Then, he helps rescue Terra from a fate far worse than death and in the process gained a girlfriend of his own in Raven.

All in all, he mused, things were turning out all right. The stab wound was already healed, much to the surprise of not only the Titans, but, the guy who tried to get rid of him in the first place.

He was looking forward to putting the word out on the street how a couple of gang bangers from Palm Street were embarrassed. No one from that gang would show their faces for a while, and, the two arrested normally would be welcomed back with street cred for taking down a pizza shop. This time, Edward wanted to make sure that they got their rumps kicked by their own gang.

Within 30 minutes, though, they were down to the last slice of pie and a debate arose on who would get it.

"I have an idea, folks," Edward said, "Everyone pick a number from 1 to 100. Closest one to a number I choose, gets the last piece. I've had plenty, so, I don't mind if one of you folks gets it."

Edward mentally picked a number and said, "Go ahead."

Terra chimed in and said, "72."

Raven, "47"

Robin, "19"

Cyborg, "89"

BB, "70"

Star, "15"

Edward reached out and after picking up the slice said, "The number was 75. Winner is our lithe rock and roller, Terra."

Terra smiled as Edward awarded her the coveted slice while the others looked crestfallen.

"Better luck next time, friends," Edward said.

After Terra devoured the slice, it was time to head back to the Tower for a good night's sleep. Robin had scheduled some rec time for the team for the next day.

Starfire was in a "volley the ball" mood as well as wanting to go to the "Mall of Shopping," so, that gave Star and Raven some girl time. BB and Terra were going to see a movie, leaving the guys alone after the volleyball game and Raven's meditation session with Edward.

Edward was really looking forward to some sleep, though. Normal scratches and scrapes didn't drain him that much. Having to heal from a stab wound near a vital organ was a totally different matter. He was borderline exhausted from healing that wound…and eating a bunch of pizza helped in several ways.

They went outside and quick travel arrangements were made…meaning Raven teleported them all before anyone could say a word.

They arrived at the Tower and Edward thanked Raven for the lift home before bidding the others good night.

[Are you OK?] Raven asked.

[Just exhausted, Rae,] he replied, [That punk got me pretty good. It takes a bit outta me to recover from those types of wounds.]

[How bad was it?] she asked.

[It would have been fatal to anyone else. He got me near a kidney,] Edward replied.

Edward sensed Raven's anger coming to the surface.

[Rae, it's OK! I'm already fully healed or I wouldn't have pigged out. Those guys are sitting in jail and by the time they get out, their names will be mud in the eyes of the other gangs in that area. Palm Street Homies will be the Palm Street Pansies when I'm done with them.]

A sigh came through the link as Raven calm down a bit. She even chuckled a bit, knowing that Edward was not going to let such an affront on his very person go unanswered.


	16. Edward exacts his vengeance

[Next Day]

Edward was true to his word. After fixing breakfast for the team, he and Raven headed for Palm Street and surrounding areas to pass out flyers and post several of them on lamp posts.

Robin had gotten the mug shots from the police and as Edward was posting the flyers, several gang members came over and they didn't look happy.

"Yo," one gang member said, "What's this crap you're saying 'bout us? Palm Street Pansies? We're da Homies, a**hole!"

"The truth, bud," Edward said, "Punks thought that they would take down a Titan. They ended up BEING taken down by said Titan."

"You calling us punks?" the guy said.

"If the shoe fits…" Edward replied stonily.

"Man, I ought to cut you!" the guy said pulling out a knife.

"Your friend tried that last night," Edward replied and casually grabbed his wrist, forcing it upwards and squeezing the pressure point to force the punk to drop his knife.

Edward said, "Tell your friends that there's a new guy in town and he wants you gone." Still holding the guy's wrist, he bent down, picked up the blade and said, "Nice knife. Say good-bye to it."

Edward snapped the blade between his fingers and dropped the two halves.

"If I hear any more activity from your homies, I can break you as easily as that knife, got it?" Edward snarled, "Pack up and disband or I'll hunt you down."

"As will the other Titans," Raven said, coming on the scene.

"You're that new guy we heard about?" the gang banger said, trying to get his arm free without success.

"Very good," Edward said, "Would you like a cookie for that guess?"

The guy took a swing at Edward, only to have his fist impact a black wall. He howled in pain as his hand broke.

Edward released the other wrist.

"Go home," Edward said, "You might want to have that hand looked at. I'll forgo charges…this time. Don't try my mercy a third time."

By then, other gang members had gathered and watched their brother taken down.

"Guys," one said, "I think we got some Titans to take down. We got them outnumbered, 20 to 1."

They tried a bums rush and dogpiled on Edward. They heard a snarling from two directions before the pile exploded outward.

"OK," he snarled, "Playtime's OVER!"

He shapeshifted to mini-dragon as Raven allowed Anger to emerge.

Her cloak expanded in response to her powers as she rose a good 10 feet off the ground.

The gang members picked themselves off the ground, only to see an angry Dragon, spines glowing white ready to dish out some lightning.

Raven snarled, "One chance to give up. I've seen that look before in Edward's eyes and spine."

The gang members stood their ground. Edward nodded to Raven, [Take them!]

He let loose his lightning breath and several gang bangers fell. A few others were slammed into the nearby wall by Raven's dark powers.

Some of the remaining bangers pulled guns and opened fire. Raven quickly raised a black wall to protect herself and Edward. As their ammo ran low, Raven reformed the energy wall to surround those with firearms.

Edward heard sirens in the distance so, he knew that the police were coming.

He heard his communicator chirping and after a shapeshift back opened it to see Robin's face there.

"Having fun?" he asked.

"Having a blast, Robin," Edward said with a smile, "Just taking out the trash. The Homies are pretty much wiped out. They ain't dead, but, the saw what an angry Rae can do."

"I'll bet. There's a lot of law enforcement heading your way," Robin said.

When the gang heard that, they freaked out. "We can't go to jail, man!" one called out.

"You shouldn't have attacked," Raven said coldly, "Be glad that you're going to jail. Looks like your friends might also be going to the hospital."

"Send ambulances," Edward requested of Robin, "Some of these guys ended up riding the lightning."

"Ouch!" he said, "Ambulances will be on their way ASAP. Robin out."

About 20 police cars showed up a few minutes later and set up a cordon to make sure that no one escaped.

Raven allowed her energy to collapse and the gang bangers tried to run, but a roar from Edward, who opted for a T-rex form, stopped them cold.

They had the sense to throw down their weapons and dropped to their knees. Police moved in after Edward shapeshifted back.

It would take a while to process the folks, but, within a few hours, Palm Street would be safe for a while. Word would get out that while there was a gangland power vacuum, it might be wise to let that sleeping dog lie.

Edward asked the gang bangers, "Where's your leader?"

"F*** you! We ain't talking without a lawyer. We know our rights!" one guy smart-mouthed back.

"Oh, you know your rights," Raven said, "What about the rights of the people of this area to live without fear? What about our rights to make a living in peace without fear of being robbed? You tried to rob Edward of his right to live last night! You're lucky the Titans don't kill! How dare you speak of your rights when you deny them to others!" She was livid and allowing Anger to have her say.

"Fine," Edward said, "Then, I'll address the lot of you. When/If you make bond, don't even think of crossing the line like your friends did last night. The butt-kicking you just got would be minor compared to the entire team coming down here. You want to come back here, fine. If you want to get out of this lifestyle, I think that the Titans would make time to help you. And, if someone wants out…I strongly insist that the others not interfere."

"Anyone tries to leave, they die," someone said. Raven pointed the guy out, already in cuffs.

"Think you're still a tough guy, Mr. Gang Leader?" Edward snarled, "Tell you what. You beat me in a fair fight, your members stay. I beat you…they can leave without fear of being killed or otherwise maimed…and you step down as their leader and the gang disbands. No weapons and I fight as a man, no shapeshifting or using excessive strength. Deal?"

The leader, having exposed himself nodded.

"Release him, please," Edward said, "And, officers, you might want to check your tires. I couldn't help but notice how rough the roads are here. Maybe check the belts in your vehicles as well."

"Yeah," the on scene captain said, "Men, time for an on scene vehicle inspection. You didn't see anything out of the ordinary."

There was a chorus of "Yes, Sirs" as the gang leader was released.

"Remember," Edward cautioned, "You're still under arrest. Trying to escape would be very bad for your health."

"Bastard," the guy snarled.

"Dude, I've been called far worse in several different languages. Let's rock," Edward said.

The gang leader charged and Edward sidestepped him, sticking his foot out and causing the guy to trip.

He got up and wiped the blood off his face, "Made me bleed my own blood. You're dead for that."

"Sticks and stones, boy," Edward said, intentionally putting his opponent down.

The leader swung at Edward who blocked it and swung back, hitting the leader with a wicked left jab that jerked the leader's head to the side.

The gang leader shook his head to clear it but, before he could react further, he ate a hard shot to the gut that knocked the wind out of him.

He gasped for air before standing up. He let out a yell before charging Edward again. Edward took a hard right to the jaw and "sold" the move. He staggered to the left before grasping at a lamp post. He reached up and reset his jaw.

"Good one," Edward admitted.

Folks could see Edward's eyes starting to glow yellow.

[Edward, honey,] Raven said via the link, [Your eyes are glowing. Don't let this guy get to you.]

Edward took a calming breath and the glow in his eyes faded.

Unknown to Edward, Raven was transmitting the fight to the Tower. Robin had asked to see how Edward handled himself in a real fight, this was certainly one of them.

The gang leader tried a dirty move and kneed Edward where it hurt the most. That instantly caused Edward's eyes to glow red as his control was pushed to the breaking point.

"Want to fight dirty, huh?" Edward snarled, "I'm done holding back."

He charged the gang leaded and proceeded to beat the living crap out of him before the poor guy could react. Edward, despite being in pain and totally angry did keep his part of the bet and kept his strength to human levels, albeit more like a bodybuilder than anything else.

Edward threw the gang leader into a mailbox and quickly put the leader into a rear naked choke hold.

"Best tap out, sonny," Edward snarled, "Or I apply enough pressure to make you pass out."

The gang leader struggled to escape the crushing move, though.

"Suit yourself," Edward said, applying more pressure on the man.

After a few long seconds, Edward felt the man tapping out.

"Smart move," Edward said, "Tell your gang that they're to consider themselves disbanded."

"Never!" the gang leader said.

Edward applied more pressure, "A deal's a deal, boy. I defeated you in battle. It looks like the cops are still checking their tires, and I'd have no problem taking you out … normally. As the Titans won't kill, I have to honor their rules. But, nothing says I can't choke you out. Honor your word or wake up in a hospital room under heavy guard."

Edward squeezed harder for about 10 seconds then released it, "Last chance."

"The Homies are no more!" the leader yelled.

The bystanders cheered as the gang bangers hung their heads.

Edward released the hold and got up. As a show of good sportsmanship, he offered his rival a hand up, which was swatted away.

"Suit yourself," Edward said.

"Well, the tires checked out OK, Titans," the captain said, indicating that they would take it from there.

"Let's go," an officer said, putting the cuffs back on the former gang leader.

"Any additional charges?" the captain asked.

"No," Edward said, "You guys were busy looking for tire damage. Be kind of hard to press charges when the chief is breathing his own fire at you."

Edward turned to Raven and smiled, "We're done here, Raven. Want a lift home?"

"Why not?" she replied, joining him at last. She had stayed out of the fight, obviously and was ready in case someone tried to toss the gang leader a weapon.

"Stand back, everyone," Edward said, "I need to shapeshift."

The residents cheered their newest hero, knowing that the now former gang bangers were off the street for a while.

After Edward transformed to mini-dragon, Raven levitated on.

"I hope those guys will, if they get out of jail, avail themselves to something positive," Edward mused.

"They will," Raven said, "If they do, that would look favorable to a judge."

Edward took to the air and circled. He wanted to be sure that the ambulances and police were safe. Residents were going home and Edward felt good for a change. His privates had stopped throbbing and he hoped Raven wouldn't say much when they got home.

He decided to teleport back to the Tower and after emerging, he landed on the roof.


	17. Edward and Robin have a talk

The computer said, "Recognize Raven. Access granted. Recognize Edward Barnes, dragon form. Access granted."

Raven and Edward went inside and was greeted by a hug from Starfire.

"I am glad you are safe, friend Edward. But, what was the reason your eyes glowed red?"

"Well, Starfire," Edward replied, "That idiot punched me in the man berries."

"What are berries of man?" Starfire asked innocently.

[OK, Rae…How the hell do I explain hit in the nuts to her?]

Raven shrugged.

"Starfire," Robin said, coming up on the scene, "I wouldn't be asking Edward about getting punched in the groin. For men, that hurts. And, I suspect that Edward was close to losing it, hence the red glow."

"Well, the eyes will glow red when I'm in that kind of pain," Edward explained, "It also, as you figured out, means I'm seriously ticked."

"Like friend Raven when she's angry?" Star asked.

"Yes," Raven said, totally deadpan, "Just like mine. If you'll excuse me, I need to meditate in my room."

Edward smiled as Raven walked by, brushing his hand in the process. It was a signal that he would be allowed to knock and enter her private room. She was extremely protective of her space and Edward respected that.

Starfire was confused at why men tend to bend over in pain when hit there, but, she let it slide for the time being.

"Come!" she said, "We were about to volley the ball!"

"Can I take a rain check?" Edward said, "I need to recover and meditate on things as well."

Starfire looked disappointed, but, said, "All right, friend. We can volley the ball later."

Robin said, "Edward, got a few minutes?"

"For the Titan's leader, sure," Edward said.

They headed to Robin living quarters that sometimes doubled as an office and went in.

"That was a good fight," he said, "Sorry about this. I had Raven record the fight for us."

Edward waved it off, "That's fine, Robin. No need to apologize. I'm happy to let you do that, I'm sure you're wondering what my weaknesses are, correct?"

Robin nodded, "Yes, I do need to know, unfortunately."

"What unfortunately?" Edward said, "If I were in your shoes, I'd be curious as well. I know that if team mates know each other's weaknesses, the other members can balances their strength against the weaknesses of the other ones."

Robin was happy to hear that Edward grasped the importance of why.

"What do you wish to know?" Edward asked.

"Well, we've seen you shapeshift like Beast Boy," Robin said, "As well as your other abilities. What can hurt you, besides getting kneed in the balls?"

"Depends on what form," Edward replied, "In any of my dragon forms, my scales are nearly as hard as diamond, making it very difficult for conventional weapons to get through.

"In human form, I can be hurt just like anyone else. I just recover a helluva lot quicker.

"Same goes in other non-dragon forms, I can be hurt. And, this doesn't go beyond you, please: Behead me and that's all she wrote for me. If I'm expecting that sort of haircut, I can prevent it by tensing up my neck muscles. If I can't, as long as my spine is intact, I can recover, but, it will take a long time.

"My weapons don't work underwater, so, that leaves brute force left."

"Can you survive underwater?" Robin asked.

"Of course," he replied, "I am not limited to land animals. I can form fish, whales, etc. Also, one benefit of immortality, as least for me is water breathing. I can extract enough oxygen from the water to survive, or, as a fish, use gills."

Robin looked thoughtful, "What about outer space?"

It was Edward's turn to think, "I've never been there. So, I have to speak in general terms. I do require oxygen, like all humanoid life, so, if I were stuck without a space suit, my immortality would be severely taxed trying to stave off the extreme cold and keeping me together from the nitrogen expansion.

"I could possibly recover quickly if brought back aboard within a few minutes. If it's longer than that and I start freezing solid…I might be down for the duration of several days or weeks. Frozen solid, it could take months to recover, even after my heart and lungs start working.

"That's because my immortality would have to do a complete rebuild to purge the trillions of destroyed cells."

"What about assets?" Robin asked, "Other than the ones the team's seen firsthand?"

"Well," Edward replied, "One interesting aspect is that while my breath weapons don't run out, if I'm hit by lightning, it's absorbed, giving me a temporary boost in strength."

"Something I've wondering," Robin said, "How did you know that Terra was still alive?"

"That was weird," Edward said, "When I brushed her statue, I felt a very faint psychic vibration from the stone. I'm more able to pick up those when needed. It was a complete surprise to even detect that. She wanted to live…to atone, I think."

"Why wasn't Raven able to detect it, though?" Robin asked.

[Hell, I don't even know!] Raven said via the link, [Regardless, Terra's back, her powers are beginning to assert themselves more each day, and, I think that the emotional damage is healing.]

"Rae doesn't know," Edward said.

"Does she eavesdrop all the time?" Robin said.

"Not really. I can sense when she's hovering in the background in various degrees. She knows that we're talking and that's when she piped up. But, we both respect that there's areas of our minds that are off limits without permission. She's been in your mind as well, so, you know why she had to do that. It's not something a telepath takes lightly.

"It's akin to rape, Robin. To me, it's extremely vile to physically rape someone. How would you take it if someone raped Starfire?"

"They wouldn't live to see jail," Robin said, voice colder than artic ice.

"Exactly my point," Edward said gently, "That's why Rae and I have this agreement to be careful with the telepathy stuff. Remember out first encounter?"

"Yeah, I do," Robin said.

"Well, I must have sensed something that caused me to try to make a mental contact with her. You didn't see it, but, I was embarrassed when she spoke aloud and backed away."

"You haven't tried that with the other Titans, right?" Robin said.

"Not at all," Edward said.

"Good, cause if you did, you'd be off the team," Robin said sternly.

"I know," Edward replied, "We're on the same page here. I don't invade others minds unless there's a reason. Terra would never have come back without Rae and I teaming up. To me, that was absolutely necessary. It was to preserve her life."

Edward felt himself getting defensive and even agitated at the implication that he's just invade other's most secret place.

[Easy, honey,] Rae cautioned, [Robin needs to know this for the good of the team. I know that you'd stay out of Nevermore unless you had no choice, and I'd stay out of your version of Nevermore. Sorry if this was a bad move.]

Edward smiled softly and sent Rae a happy vibe, [I know, dear. No harm done. But, please understand if there are times when I close the link…And you can do the same with me.]

[Of course, Ed] she replied, [We have to have our private times or have personal conversations. I'm going to close the link and meditate. You should too when Robin's done. See you soon! Love you!]

"Anything I should know about?" Robin asked.

"Raven's closed the link for now," he said, "She apologized for eavesdropping."

Robin chuckled, "I don't mind. She's such a private person that it's really hard to get her to emerge from her shell. Even if she's able to let herself feel, she can't wipe out her training by the monks of Azarath totally. Anything that gets her to open up, even to you, is good for everyone.

"I take it, though, that your powers in that department aren't as strong as Raven's?"

Edward shook his head, "She's got me beat there. But, together, you saw what happened. But, the other Titans were also needed to complete the effect. It was the team's willingness to forgive that allowed her powers to kick in and undo the petrification."

Robin's jaw dropped, "You mean that she burnt out her powers freeing herself?"

"Most likely," Edward said, "There was that risk involved. Raven mentioned that her abilities are coming back and, I know that needs to be a concern for the team. But, we need to support her regardless."

Robin started to protest, but, Edward continued on, "I know that you said the team stands ready to help her. She'd counting on us keeping that promise you made on the team's behalf. I know you well enough, though, that you'll uphold that part of the deal. While you're not under the shadow of a certain bat anymore, I have a feeling that what he instilled in you was a sense of honor."

"He did," Robin replied, "I'll always be grateful to Batman for that, and, thanks for recognizing that I had to leave his shadow. It was tough."

"I'd like to meet him at some point, though," Edward said.

"That can be arranged," Robin said, "He and I talk every couple of months. He checks up on me and the team, but, stays out of the way of the Titans."

Edward and Robin continued their conversation for a while, but, eventually, Robin knew what he needed to know. Robin left satisfied that his questions were answered.


	18. Conclusion or time to Volley the Ball

[Conclusion]

[Several days later]

The Titans finally had the downtime needed for the game of volleyball that was a stress reliever for the entire team, Edward included.

Raven was off to the side of the Tower, meditating as usual. Edward, Robin and Terra were on one side, Cyborg, Starfire and Beast Boy were on the other side. If was felt that the couples should be on opposite sides of the net for fairness sake at least.

"Aw," Beast Boy complained, "Edward's taking away my advantage."

"You mean being able to hit the ball so it hits me," Raven deadpanned, "I think it's very fair as Edward won't let the ball hit me."

Beast Boy sighed.

"She's right, Beast Boy," Robin said, "I got a feeling that if you were to do that, the resident Dragon might take temporary exception. The teams stay as they are set."

"Want to referee?" Edward asked his new girlfriend.

"I have to meditate," Raven said.

"That's fine," Edward said.

"Who gets to serve first?" Robin asked.

Terra pulled out a coin, "Flip for it. You call it, Robin." She flipped it and Robin called out "Heads."

The coin landed and she said, "It's tails."

"Boo yeah!" Cyborg called. He quickly set up how he wanted Beast Boy and Starfire lined up as Robin did the same.

Beast Boy had the honor of serving the ball and he threw the ball into the air. As it came down, he transformed into a gorilla, aiming for the first point.

He smacked the ball and as it flew, Edward jumped into the air and deflected the ball to Terra, who bounced it into the air and stepped back. Robin hit the ball towards Cyborg who lofted it into the air for Starfire to return over the net.

The ball went toward Edward, who attempted to smoke the ball into the other side of the court, to see a green kangaroo kicking the ball back at Edward, who quickly transformed into his own gorilla and smashed the ball past a stunned BB for the first point of the game.

Edward shapeshifted back and chuckled, "Not bad for an old-timer."

"Dude," BB said, "You're so going to pay for that."

"What's wrong, grass stain?" Cyborg asked, "Can't take your own medicine? Looks like Edward's got you evenly matched."

"Actually, Cy," Edward said, "I still have to hold back…a lot."

Edward, Terra and Robin braced for the next volley as Beast Boy tried again to ace the ball over the net with a shapeshift back to gorilla.

The ball flew hard and fast towards Raven.

[Head's up!] Edward called through the link. The ball was covered in a black aura and rocketed back the way it came, hitting Beast Boy and knocking him flat.

"That's two points in our favor," Terra said with a chuckle.

It was Starfire's turn to serve and Edward braced for a powerful serve. But, Starfire surprised him and hit the ball at a more human level of strength. It lofted towards Terra this time and she hit it towards Edward, who hit it straight up and moved back to allow Robin to hit the ball.

However, the angle was wrong and the ball hit the net and bounced back. 2-1 for Robin's team.

Robin muttered under his breath as he tossed the ball to Cyborg.

Well, the game went on for over an hour as the teams were evenly matched strength wise. Edward countered all of Beast Boy's attempts to spike the ball. Then, Beast Boy was able to counter Edward's attempts as well.

Finally, though, the game was declared a draw as the sun started to set. Raven had emerged from meditation before the game ended, having only been interrupted once.

"We'll continue this later," Robin said with a smirk. Everyone was sweaty and in need of a shower, Edward included.

"Good game!" Edward said.

"A glorious game," Starfire cheered.

"Oh yeah!" Cyborg said, "What's for dinner?"

"I have pasta planned tonight," Edward said, "Vegan for Beast Boy and meaty for the rest of us."

"Yes!" Beast Boy said, "I love your sauce, man!" Edward had made a huge batch of sauce recently and it was a hit with the Titans. Beast Boy had finally found someone who respected his vegan diet without complaining about it. It kind of shamed Cyborg a bit, but, he didn't mind.

After dinner, Starfire asked, "When would you like to go to the mall of shopping?"

"Tomorrow would work," Edward said, "As long as a mission doesn't interfere, obviously."

"Glorious!" she replied happily.

"Mind if I come with you guys?" Terra asked.

Edward raised an eyebrow. It was the first time Terra had been willing to leave the Tower since her rescue.

"Please do!" Starfire said, eye softly glowing.

"How are your powers coming along?" Edward asked.

"Definitely returning," she said, "I've been slowly discovering that I can move larger and larger rocks. It does take more effort, though."

"How about control?" Robin asked.

"I'm being careful, limiting myself to moving smaller things," Terra replied, "Control is there for now."

"Come with me, please," Edward asked her, "Not in trouble, I'm curious to see how you are doing with control and how strong your powers are."

"All right," Terra replied, getting up. Beast Boy got up as well. They headed towards the shore at the base of the Tower.

"Let's see what you got," Edward said, picking up a stone.

"What do you want me to do?" Terra asked.

"Pick it up and make it float for 30 seconds," Edward suggested.

Terra focused and her hands started glowing softly. The stone rose off Edward's hand and he let the hand drop.

The stone wavered. "Focus, Terra," Beast Boy encouraged, "You can do it."

The stone stabilized and after the time elapsed, Edward grabbed the stone and said, "Not bad. What's the heaviest stone or boulder that you've tried to move since you came back?"

"No idea," she said honestly.

Edward looked around and found a large boulder that weighed several hundred pounds. He went over and picked it up.

"I want you to try to take this from me," he said, "Don't strain yourself, though! If you can do it, great, if not, don't worry about it."

Terra hands glowed and as she focused on the boulder, she reached out and started to try. The boulder started to lift out of his arms, but, it faltered as well. Terra started sweating with the effort. She pushed harder and the boulder lifted out of his arms. He stepped back and smiled.

He let her continue for a few moments and said, "All right. You can let it go now."

The boulder dropped with a resounding thud.

"Way to go, Terra!" Beast Boy cheered. She hugged him gratefully, then, hugged Edward.

"That's a lot of progress, Terra," Edward said, "A little loss of control, but, I expected that. That said, I don't think it's a good idea, yet, for you to go on missions. I'd say a while yet. We'd have to give you a lot of space to let your powers expand to where they were before."

"There's a desert about 30 miles from here," Beast Boy said.

"That would be the space needed, that's for sure," Robin said as he and the rest of the team arrived.

"Glorious!" Starfire said, "We saw you doing the lifting of the rock."

"You've improved," Raven said with a soft smile. From Raven, that was a huge compliment in itself!

"Way to go, girl!" Cyborg enthused as well.

"When can she start going on missions?" Robin asked.

"Well," Edward said, "She struggled initially with the boulder, which I expected. With respect, not for at least 6 weeks. She's going to need a lot of practice."

With that, the team settled in for the long haul. There's more adventures to be had, but, those will wait to be told…

The End (For now)

**A/N: Hi Everyone! Hope you all liked this initial installment. I know it was like three stories in one. That was intentional :) I wanted to get several plot elements in place for other stories.**

**Thanks in advance for reviews, story alerts, fav. Story alerts and others. While reviews are nice, I'm not going to insist on them.**

**Thanks for reading as well. It's been a while since I put anything on FF (I have several Dragon stories on my personal website).**


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